TENERIFE, Spain — A cruise ship impacted by a hantavirus outbreak, carrying over 140 passengers and crew members, has safely reached the port of Tenerife, the largest island in Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago located off the western coast of Africa. Preparations are now underway for a controlled disembarkation process for passengers and a portion of the vessel’s crew.
According to joint statements from the World Health Organization (WHO), Spanish national and local health authorities, and the ship’s operator Oceanwide Expeditions, none of the people currently remaining on board the MV Hondius are exhibiting any clinical signs of hantavirus infection at this time. The outbreak has already claimed three lives, and five former passengers who departed the vessel at an earlier stage of the journey have tested positive for the pathogen, which is known to cause severe, potentially fatal respiratory or renal illness in humans.
High-level officials including WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, alongside Spain’s Minister of Health and Minister of the Interior, were on site to oversee the coordinated evacuation operation. Spanish authorities have emphasized strict biosecurity protocols to prevent community spread: all disembarking passengers and crew will remain completely isolated from the local Tenerife population at all times. No one will be allowed to leave the ship until chartered evacuation flights are fully prepared to transport each individual directly back to their home countries.