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Spanish Passenger Tests Positive for Hantavirus
(MENAFN) A case of hantavirus infection has been confirmed in one Spanish passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship after evacuation efforts were completed, according to reports citing Spain’s health authorities.
Spain’s Health Minister Mónica García said the passenger who tested positive has not shown symptoms so far, while the remaining 13 Spanish nationals on board tested negative. All of them are currently being kept under quarantine at a military hospital in Madrid.
Authorities also confirmed that three deaths have been linked to the outbreak, while additional infections have been identified among evacuees, including individuals transferred to Spain’s Canary Islands, among them an American citizen and a French woman.
The French patient is reported to be in intensive care but in stable condition, according to French officials.
Officials said the evacuation operation has now been completed after two days of coordinated efforts that removed around 125 passengers and crew members from 23 different countries. Those evacuated are either already in their home countries or in the process of returning.
The vessel is currently en route to the Netherlands, where remaining crew members are expected to disembark before specialists carry out full disinfection procedures.
The operation faced some criticism from regional authorities in the Canary Islands, who questioned the handling of the situation and suggested the evacuation could have been carried out earlier in the Netherlands, where the ship is registered. Health officials, however, maintained that the virus does not spread in a manner comparable to COVID-19.
International coordination for the evacuation involved multiple countries as well as global health bodies, including the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
The outbreak has been linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, which is the only known variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission. Previous major outbreaks of this strain include a 2018 incident in Patagonia, Argentina, where 11 people died.
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