The final passengers aboard the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius have disembarked as health authorities confirmed three additional positive cases linked to the deadly outbreak.
The vessel departed Tenerife for the Netherlands on Monday after its remaining six passengers — four Australians, one Briton and one New Zealander — along with several crew members, left the ship.
So far, three passengers who travelled aboard the cruise ship have died, including two whose hantavirus infections were officially confirmed.
Authorities also confirmed that an American and a French national who had earlier returned to their home countries later tested positive for the virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), seven hantavirus cases linked to the vessel have now been confirmed, while two others remain suspected.
Spain’s Health Ministry said a Spanish national currently quarantining in Madrid after being evacuated from the ship had also provisionally tested positive for hantavirus on Monday.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Health and Human Services revealed that a second American passenger on a repatriation flight displayed mild symptoms. Both Americans reportedly travelled back to the United States in specialised biocontainment units as a precautionary measure.
French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said a French woman infected with the virus is currently isolating in Paris, although her condition is said to be worsening. Authorities have traced 22 close contacts linked to her.
Two British nationals with confirmed infections are currently receiving treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa.
Health experts believe some passengers contracted the Andes strain of hantavirus during earlier travels in South America before boarding the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina.
Unlike most hantavirus strains that spread mainly through rodents, the Andes variant has shown potential for limited human-to-human transmission, raising international concern despite officials maintaining that the risk of a large-scale outbreak remains low.
Symptoms associated with the virus include fever, muscle aches, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and breathing difficulties.
As of Monday evening, cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said 27 individuals remained on board the vessel, including 25 crew members and two medical personnel from several countries including the Philippines, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Russia and Poland.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry stated that Ukrainian crew members would assist in returning the ship to the Netherlands before entering quarantine upon arrival. None were reported to be showing symptoms.
More than 90 passengers from the vessel have already been repatriated from Spain’s Canary Islands over recent days.
Four Canadian passengers arrived in British Columbia on Sunday following a chartered evacuation flight from Tenerife to Quebec. Canadian authorities said the passengers would undergo self-isolation and monitoring for at least three weeks.
The US government said all 17 American citizens repatriated from the ship would receive medical assessments at a healthcare facility in Nebraska, while seven other US passengers who had earlier returned home are also being monitored.
Before the American infections were confirmed, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the US decision not to fully follow WHO isolation recommendations could carry risks.
WHO has recommended a 42-day isolation period for all individuals leaving the MV Hondius. However, acting US Centers for Disease Control director Jay Bhattacharya said there was no need for public panic, stressing that human-to-human transmission remains extremely rare.
Images from Tenerife showed passengers wearing protective gowns, medical masks and bouffant caps while disembarking from the ship.
Twenty British nationals flown from Tenerife to Manchester were placed under 72-hour isolation at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside, although none have reported symptoms so far.
Spanish authorities also confirmed that a police officer involved in the evacuation operation died from cardiac arrest during the repatriation process.
The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius began after the ship departed Ushuaia on April 1 carrying 147 passengers and crew members from 23 countries.
An elderly Dutch man became the first fatality after developing symptoms and dying at sea on April 11 before he could be tested. His wife later died in Johannesburg after being evacuated from Saint Helena, while a German woman died aboard the vessel on May 2. Both women were confirmed to have contracted hantavirus.
