WHO Chief in Spain for Cruise Ship Crisis
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) touched down in Spain on Saturday, anticipating the arrival of a cruise ship tainted by a dangerous virus linked to rats.
As Sunday nears, the ship is not permitted to dock in the Canary Islands and will linger offshore while health teams in protective gear manage the evacuation of passengers and crew to 20 different countries.
This situation follows a turbulent week marked by conflicts between local conservative leaders and Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister, centered on whether to follow WHO’s directive to allow the afflicted ship to port.
The MV Hondius is anticipated to reach the area near Granadilla on Tenerife early Sunday, according to reports from a shipping company.
Medical experts and epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are on their way to Spain to assist with the 17 Americans aboard the vessel, along with health officials from various nations.
In total, there are 147 passengers and 60 crew members who will be sent back to 24 different countries. Fourteen Spanish citizens were already evacuated by military aircraft to Madrid for quarantine purposes.
The U.S. State Department is organizing a medical repatriation flight to transfer the 17 Americans to an Air Force base in Omaha, Nebraska.
Upon arrival, they’ll be taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for isolation before transferring to the National Quarantine Center, where another CDC team is prepared to assist.
Details remain sparse regarding the quarantine duration for the passengers before they can return home, and their state of origin is unclear. The typical incubation period for hantaviruses ranges from 1 to 3 weeks, though in certain rare instances, it can extend to 8 weeks.
Tragically, three people have died, including two Dutch ornithologists and a German passenger, while at least five others are ill. Three individuals, including a 56-year-old British crew member, were airlifted from Cape Verde to the Netherlands and remain hospitalized as of Saturday.
Additionally, a 69-year-old British man was taken from Ascension Island to intensive care in Johannesburg, along with his American partner, who is reportedly showing no symptoms.
British authorities confirmed that a resident from the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, the cruise’s first planned stop on April 15, is undergoing treatment for a potential rodent-related virus.
The affected ship will not be granted permission to dock when arriving in the Canary Islands.
Passengers set sail on this ill-fated cruise on April 1st.
Hantavirus, the disease responsible for recent fatalities, is typically contracted through exposure to rodent droppings; however, the current strain—Andes virus—can spread between humans and carries a nearly 40% fatality rate.
Argentina has experienced a spike in hantavirus cases over the past year, reporting 86 infections and 28 deaths in 2025, making it one of the most severe outbreaks in recent years, exacerbated by wildfires suspected of bringing rodents closer to urban areas.
In January, Argentina’s National Epidemiological Bulletin flagged the situation, stating that the country had reached the criteria for a hantavirus outbreak.
This week, Argentine officials dispatched a team to Ushuaia to gather samples from local rodent populations for testing.
