The cruise ship MV Hondius, at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak, is expected to dock in the Spanish Canary Islands this weekend following its journey from Cape Verde. The World Health Organization has confirmed eight cases aboard the vessel, including five laboratory-confirmed and three suspected cases, resulting in three deaths.
Health officials in at least a dozen countries are now tracking passengers who disembarked earlier in the voyage. In the United States, former passengers have been identified in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia, though none have reported symptoms.
The outbreak is believed to have originated during a birdwatching expedition from Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Verde. The WHO has confirmed the Andes strain of hantavirus, which unlike other strains can spread between people through close personal contact.
Despite the widening response, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated the public health risk remains low. The CDC has classified this as a Level 3 emergency response but emphasized that risk to the American public is extremely low.
Spanish officials have confirmed that a US aircraft will be sent to evacuate the 17 American passengers still aboard when the ship arrives. Medical evacuations have already transported three patients to hospitals in the Netherlands and Germany.
Passengers remaining on board are being asked to stay in their cabins, with WHO epidemiologists and Dutch infectious disease specialists now providing medical coverage on the vessel.
