Health officials said the process to evacuate passengers from a Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship afflicted by a hantavirus outbreak will be completed on Monday, with flights departing from Australia and the Netherlands carrying the remaining evacuees.
Spanish authorities reported that one aircraft from Australia will remove six passengers from Tenerife, while a second plane from the Netherlands will carry 18 passengers. Officials indicated both flights will also accommodate passengers from other countries that had not arranged their own repatriation services.
A World Health Organization tally from Friday shows that eight people who are no longer on the ship have fallen ill; six of those are confirmed to have contracted the virus. Three fatalities have been reported in connection with the outbreak - a Dutch couple and a German national.
U.S. federal health authorities said on Sunday that among 17 Americans being repatriated, one has tested positive for the Andes strain of the virus and a second is experiencing mild symptoms. Separately, France's health minister reported that a French passenger had tested positive and that the individual's condition was worsening. It remains unclear whether these two recent cases are included among the six laboratory-confirmed infections cited by the WHO.
The MV Hondius had 147 passengers and crew aboard when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses among passengers was first reported to the WHO on May 3. By that date, 34 other passengers had already disembarked the vessel. The ship had departed Argentina in March and made calls in the Antarctic and other locations before proceeding north to waters off Cape Verde, west of Africa.
After news of the outbreak emerged, local authorities briefly detained the vessel off Cape Verde last week. The initial detection of the outbreak was linked to treatment in Johannesburg on May 2, when health officials cared for a British man taken into intensive care after leaving the ship. That case followed the death of another passenger about three weeks earlier.
Public statements from health authorities noted that the hantavirus is typically transmitted by rodents but can, in rare instances and in cases of close contact, pass from person to person. Following the detection of illness among passengers, the luxury ship set sail for Spain's Canary Islands off West Africa on Wednesday, at the request of the WHO and the European Union, which asked the country to coordinate passenger evacuation.
Transport arrangements from Tenerife were scheduled to include flights to Canada, the Netherlands, Turkey, France, Britain, Ireland and the United States on Sunday and Monday. Some passengers have already been flown to Madrid. On arrival in destination countries, passengers will be tested and then either admitted to hospitals, placed in quarantine facilities, or sent home to isolate.
The WHO has advised a 42-day quarantine for everyone who was aboard the ship, a recommendation reiterated by Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's director of epidemic and pandemic management, during a briefing. Meanwhile, 30 crew members will remain on board the MV Hondius and are due to sail to the Netherlands on Monday evening, where authorities plan to disinfect the vessel.
Health officials have urged calm, noting that the current hantavirus strain is far less contagious than COVID-19 and poses limited risk to the general population. Acting U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jay Bhattacharya, speaking in an interview, said: "This is not COVID and we don’t want to treat it like COVID." He added that the 17 U.S. passengers being repatriated would be offered the option of isolating at home or at a facility in Nebraska.
Spain's health ministry also sought to reduce public alarm, stating that no rodents had been detected aboard the ship. Authorities emphasized that passengers would undergo testing on arrival and be directed to appropriate care or isolation facilities based on results.
Summary
Evacuation of the MV Hondius is expected to finish on Monday with flights from Australia and the Netherlands carrying remaining passengers, including individuals from countries without repatriation flights. Health authorities report eight ill people off the ship, six confirmed cases, and three deaths. Passengers will be tested on arrival and subject to the WHO-recommended 42-day quarantine; 30 crew will stay aboard while the ship heads to the Netherlands for disinfection.
Key points
- Evacuation completion - Flights from Australia and the Netherlands will conclude the repatriation effort on Monday, carrying remaining passengers and individuals from other countries without repatriation flights.
- Cases and fatalities - WHO reported eight ill people off the ship, six confirmed infections, and three deaths (a Dutch couple and a German national); one of 17 repatriated Americans tested positive and another showed mild symptoms.
- Sectors involved - The events directly involve the travel and tourism sector, the aviation industry handling repatriation flights, and healthcare systems responsible for testing, isolation, and treatment.
Risks and uncertainties
- Case-count clarity - It is not clear whether the recently reported U.S. and French cases are included in the six confirmed infections cited by the WHO, creating uncertainty in the official tally.
- Onboard exposure and contamination - Thirty crew members remain aboard while the ship sails to the Netherlands for disinfection, raising operational questions about onboard exposure and the timing of remediation.
- Quarantine logistics - Implementation of the WHO-recommended 42-day quarantine for all passengers introduces logistical strains on health and isolation facilities in the receiving countries.