The Director General of Public Health has highlighted the exceptional nature of the operation carried out in Tenerife to manage the hantavirus outbreak aboard the Hondius cruise ship. This operation involved 23 countries, various health and security authorities, as well as the merchant navy, making it a large-scale and highly coordinated effort.
“"This hantavirus outbreak is certainly not COVID. If it were comparable, on the MV Hondius there would be a hundred infected instead of eight."
The main difference from other diseases, such as COVID-19, lies in the transmission of hantavirus, which is "very difficult" between people. This allowed the outbreak to remain "contained on the ship," facilitating case tracking. Unlike the first COVID cases in Spain, where community circulation already existed, hantavirus contacts were localized as they traveled on the same vessel.
Although "it is not an exact science," health authorities have "more guarantees" that the outbreak is "more controlled" compared to previous weeks. Before the outbreak was confirmed, a group of passengers from the HV Hondius disembarked in Santa Elena, and some tested positive, leading to the identification and quarantine of their contacts.
Before the expedition cruise ship anchored in Tenerife, maritime health declarations were received every twelve hours, with onboard doctors inspecting passengers. It is emphasized that, prior to disembarkation at the port of Granadilla, supervised by the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the Foreign Health service, no passenger showed symptoms, and all had their temperature taken.
A specific case was that of a French woman who tested positive. Her symptoms, including fever, began to manifest once on the plane taking her back to her country, indicating that hantavirus can have a "very rapid evolution in terms of symptoms, from morning to evening."
Protocols in Spain are similar to those in other countries, involving automatic PCR tests for all symptomatic individuals to be considered "suspected cases." An example was a person from Alicante who traveled on the same plane as one of the fatalities and, after showing symptoms, tested negative in two tests, with a third scheduled.
The Director General of Public Health believes the operation in Tenerife is "quite unique in terms of size" due to the participation of 23 countries and the close collaboration between civil protection services, foreign health, security forces, ports, and airports. Despite hantavirus not being a new disease or an extreme risk to the general population, it was crucial to "demonstrate full strength" and the capacity to prevent the outbreak from spreading beyond those on board the ship. The results obtained suggest that the operation deserves a "very high and unique rating."
