Three people suspected of having hantavirus were evacuated from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius and are being sent to the Netherlands for treatment, the World Health Organization said. The evacuees include a British crew member, and a German and a Dutch passenger. The rare outbreak has already killed three people.
A planned stop in the Canary Islands — part of a Spanish government and WHO arrangement to permit a full investigation and inspection after the evacuations — was rejected by the archipelago’s regional leader, Fernando Clavijo. Clavijo, of the conservative opposition, said he had not been sufficiently consulted and has requested a meeting with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. A flight that had been intended to evacuate a sick doctor to the Canary Islands was canceled, regional officials said.
South African health authorities confirmed that the Andes strain of hantavirus was identified in two people who had been aboard the cruise. Unlike most hantavirus strains, the Andes strain, found mainly in Argentina and Chile, can spread from person to person. Swiss authorities also reported that a man who traveled on the ship and returned to Switzerland at the end of April tested positive for the Andes strain; Swiss officials said there is currently no risk to the Swiss public. The WHO says there are eight confirmed cases in total.
Operator Oceanwide Expeditions said two infectious-disease specialists were en route from the Netherlands to the vessel and will remain with it after it departs Cape Verde, where the Hondius has been anchored since Sunday. The ship left Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1.
Ann Lindstrand, the WHO representative in Cape Verde, told reporters there is no indication of a pandemic-level threat given the overall low likelihood of human-to-human transmission. Spanish and Dutch authorities are “intensely discussing” next steps, she said. Passengers have been instructed to stay in their cabins as much as possible; if health authorities require it, quarantine could last up to eight weeks, reflecting hantavirus’ incubation period of one to eight weeks. Lindstrand added that passengers are anxious but, according to a volunteer doctor on board, are coping surprisingly well.