Evacuation Process Begins from Ship Infected with Hantavirus

SadaNews - Spanish authorities began evacuating passengers from the cruise ship "MV Hondius" today, Sunday, after it experienced an outbreak of Hantavirus on board, upon its arrival at dawn today at Tenerife island in the Canary archipelago, amidst strict health measures and extensive international monitoring.

The Spanish Ministry of Health announced, in a statement via the "Telegram" platform, that "the disembarkation of Spanish passengers and a Spanish crew member has started" at 08:30 GMT, as part of an evacuation operation involving about a hundred passengers and crew members.

The World Health Organization has recorded six confirmed cases of Hantavirus so far out of eight suspected cases, including three fatalities, at a time when the rare virus raises health concerns due to the absence of any vaccine or dedicated treatment for it, although the organization confirmed that it does not resemble the COVID-19 virus in terms of the nature of transmission or the level of global risk.

The ship, which set sail from the Argentine city of Ushuaia at the beginning of April, docked at the port of Granadilla de Abona in southern Tenerife around seven o'clock this morning local time, while it was decided to keep part of the crew on board before continuing its journey later to the Netherlands. Spanish Health Minister Monika Garcia Gomez announced that authorities have completed all necessary arrangements to welcome the ship "with all public health guarantees", noting that the test result of one of the patients transferred to a hospital in Alicante was negative.

According to a statement from "Oceanwide Expeditions", the company operating the ship, evacuation operations will begin shortly after the ship's docking. Meanwhile, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, confirmed during a press conference held Saturday evening at the port that "Spain is ready and prepared" to oversee the operation.

Despite no symptoms appearing in the passengers currently on board the ship, the World Health Organization classifies them as "high-risk contacts". Maria Van Kerkhove, the head of the organization's epidemic prevention and preparedness division, stated that the passengers will undergo health monitoring for 42 days.

The Spanish government confirmed that the evacuation plan will be carried out without any contact with local residents, while the Health Minister clarified that passengers will disembark "gradually and in an organized manner" after undergoing medical checks on board the ship, to be transferred without their luggage, prioritizing the fourteen Spanish citizens on board, all wearing "FFP2" medical masks.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska described the operation as "swift", indicating that passengers will be transported in small batches by another ship to the mainland, and then to Tenerife Airport to be flown back to their countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

The French government announced on Sunday that the five French citizens who were on board the ship will be transported to France "via a medical flight" on the same day, while French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu is holding a meeting to assess the situation with the relevant ministers.

Earlier in the week, three individuals were disembarked in Cape Verde before being flown to Europe via medical planes, while authorities imposed a temporary maritime exclusion zone around the ship upon its arrival in Tenerife.

Amid escalating concern within the Canary Islands, the World Health Organization's director-general stated that he "understands" the local population's fears, but emphasized that the risk level to them is "low". Local authorities in the archipelago have opposed the ship's docking in the area over the past few days.

Hantavirus typically transmits from infected rodents through urine, feces, or saliva; however, experts pointed out that the strain discovered on board the ship, known as "Andes hantavirus", is one of the rare strains capable of transmission between humans, with an incubation period that can reach six weeks, while health authorities in several countries continue to track contacts and conduct necessary tests on them.