A French woman and an American national evacuated from the cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive for the virus, as the complex operation to repatriate those onboard continued on Monday.
The French woman was one of five French passengers who disembarked from the ship in Tenerife on Sunday before being flown to a hospital in Paris. The French health minister, Stéphanie Rist, said the woman was in a serious condition on Monday, having started to feel very unwell on Sunday night with symptoms worsening overnight. She is being treated in a specialised infectious diseases unit of a hospital in Paris.
An American passenger who was flown to Nebraska along with 16 others on Sunday evening also tested positive but had no symptoms. The US health department said one American national evacuated from the ship had tested positive for the Andes strain – the only hantavirus strain that is transmissible between humans – and another had “mild symptoms”.
Personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks began escorting travellers from ship to shore in Tenerife on Sunday, in an effort continuing on Monday. More than 100 people of 23 nationalities are being evacuated in less than 48 hours, in an operation described by Spanish authorities as “complex” and “unprecedented”. Spain’s health ministry said all possible measures had been adopted to cut possible chains of transmission, and that passengers underwent health checks and temperature checks upon arrival.
Three passengers from the MV Hondius – a Dutch couple and a German woman – have died from the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents. No vaccines or specific treatments exist for hantavirus, which is endemic in Argentina, from where the ship departed in April. Health officials have said the risk for global public health is low and have played down comparisons with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The captain of the MV Hondius, Jan Dobrogowski, praised the crew and passengers for their behaviour on the ship, saying in a video message: “The past few weeks have been extremely challenging, and I want to thank every single guest and crew member onboard here, as well as our colleagues back home.”
