A Dutch cruise ship experiencing a hantavirus outbreak will sail to the Canary Islands, Spain’s health ministry has said.
Two crew members, including the ship’s reportedly British doctor, needed urgent medical care and were due to be evacuated to the Canary Islands on a hospital aircraft on Tuesday. A third person connected to a German national who died was also set to be evacuated. Officials were deciding which passengers required urgent evacuation from Cape Verde, where the ship was docked.
Three passengers who had been aboard the MV Hondius have died since the vessel left Argentina about a month ago. The World Health Organization (WHO) said seven people linked to the ship have so far been identified with hantavirus — two confirmed cases and five suspected.
The two confirmed cases include a Dutch woman, who is among the dead, and a 69-year-old UK national who was evacuated to South Africa for treatment. The Dutch woman’s husband also died but is not a confirmed case, nor is the German national who died on 2 May.
South Africa’s health ministry told Reuters the two confirmed cases are linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, which can be transmitted between people in very close contact.
Some 149 people from 23 countries remain on board under “strict precautionary measures,” operator Oceanwide Expeditions said. Aside from the British crew member, there are 22 other British nationals on board.
Spain’s health ministry said the remaining passengers would be taken to the Canary Islands, arriving in three to four days, though the exact port had not yet been decided. Oceanwide said the plan was to sail to “Gran Canaria or Tenerife.” It added that the WHO had explained Cape Verde “cannot carry out this operation” and that the Canary Islands are the closest location with the required capabilities. Spain said it has a moral and legal obligation to assist, as several Spanish citizens are among those aboard.
On arrival, passengers and crew will be examined, given needed care and then assisted to begin their journeys home. All interactions will take place in specially arranged facilities and transport to avoid contact with the local population and protect healthcare personnel.
Hantavirus is usually spread from rodents, but the WHO has said it could have spread among “really close contacts” aboard the ship. It stressed the risk to the general public is low.
