Three Evacuated from Hantavirus-Linked Cruise Ship; Spain Allows Docking

Three people with suspected hantavirus were medically evacuated from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, the World Health Organization said, allowing the vessel to continue toward the Canary Islands after Spain granted permission to dock. One evacuee was named as Martin Anstee, 56, a British expedition guide, who told Sky News he was feeling okay but remained in isolation and awaiting further tests. The other two were reported as a 41-year-old Dutch colleague who is the ship’s doctor, and a 65-year-old German passenger. All three were removed from the ship for onward travel to the Netherlands. Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship operator, said an aircraft carrying two evacuees landed in the Netherlands late on Wednesday, while a second aircraft carrying the third person was delayed; that person was described as being in stable condition. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the evacuations were coordinated with WHO, the ship operator and national authorities in Cabo Verde, the UK, Spain and the Netherlands. WHO said it is monitoring passengers and crew, supporting medical follow-up and evacuations where needed, and that the overall public health risk remains low. The WHO has reported eight cases linked to the outbreak, five of them confirmed. A Dutch couple and a German national who had been on the ship have died. Close to 150 people remain aboard the vessel. Spanish health authorities said the British patient had moved from a critical to a more stable condition. The ship had been anchored off Cape Verde while evacuation arrangements were made, and Spanish regional leaders had expressed concern about the Hondius docking in Tenerife. The UK foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the UK was working with other countries to facilitate evacuations and that Foreign Office staff were in direct contact with British nationals on board. The UK Health Security Agency said two people who returned independently to the UK after being on the ship were advised to isolate; neither was reporting symptoms. UKHSA is helping trace people who may have been on the same flight as a confirmed case and said remaining British nationals on the ship could be sent home symptom-free once the vessel docks in Tenerife. Swiss authorities said a former passenger who tested positive was being treated in Zurich and that there was no risk to the public. South Africa’s health ministry reported identifying 62 contacts, including flight crew and healthcare workers, who will be monitored through the incubation period; none have been diagnosed so far. Health officials reiterated that hantavirus is typically transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their droppings, urine or saliva, and that human-to-human transmission is rare, although limited spread among close contacts has been seen with the Andes strain found in South America. The cruise began on April 1 in South America and included stops in Antarctica and remote Atlantic islands. Argentine investigators said a leading hypothesis is that the Dutch couple contracted the virus while birdwatching in Ushuaia before boarding, possibly after visiting a landfill where they were exposed to rodents. Cape Verde has not allowed passengers ashore because of the outbreak. Spain’s health ministry said it had been asked by WHO and the EU to accept the MV Hondius and agreed to do so in line with international law and humanitarian principles. Oceanwide Expeditions said the ship was expected to arrive in the Canary Islands in about three days and that it was in close discussion with authorities over arrival point, quarantine arrangements and screening procedures for all guests.