Spanish Authorities Prepare for Hantavirus-Affected Cruise Ship Arrival

MADRID — More than 140 passengers and crew members from a cruise ship impacted by a hantavirus are set to arrive in the Canary Islands this Sunday. Spanish health officials are planning careful evacuations upon their arrival.

As they approach the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, passengers will be taken to a designated “isolated, cordoned-off area,” according to Virginia Barcones, head of Spain’s emergency services.

Both the U.S. and U.K. have committed to sending planes to assist in evacuating their citizens from the ship.

Despite the unfortunate deaths of three individuals linked to the outbreak and five passengers confirmed infected with hantavirus, cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions reported no current cases of symptomatic infections on board the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius.

The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains that the risk to the broader public remains low. On Friday, the WHO announced that a flight attendant who briefly interacted with an infected passenger tested negative for the virus, alleviating some public anxiety about potential transmissibility.

Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesman, reassured that the risk remains “absolutely low,” emphasizing that this situation is unlike COVID-19.

Hantavirus typically spreads through contact with contaminated rodent droppings rather than between humans. However, the Andes virus identified in this incident may have rare instances of human transmission. Symptoms can arise one to eight weeks following exposure.

Health authorities worldwide are tracing more than two dozen passengers who left the ship before the outbreak was identified. Efforts are also underway to find additional individuals who may have been in contact with them.

Passengers Express Concerns Over Stigma

In conversations with the Associated Press, two Spanish passengers shared their worries about how they would be perceived upon returning home, speaking anonymously due to concerns about possible ostracism. Despite the outbreak, they recounted relatively peaceful days aboard, engaging in activities like bird-watching and attending discussions while observing mask wearing and social distancing.

“We’re worried about all the news and how people will react to us,” one passenger noted. “We are just regular people. Although it’s said to be a cruise for the wealthy, that’s just not true. It’s a concerning situation.”

Authorities are making efforts to assure the public in the Canary Islands regarding possible virus exposure among locals.

Once the ship reaches Tenerife, passengers will be evacuated in small boats to buses only after their repatriation flights are confirmed. Spanish officials indicated that these passengers will be transported in secure, isolated vehicles, with sections of the airport restricted for their use.

International Efforts to Track Disembarked Passengers

After the initial death of a passenger, over two dozen individuals from at least 12 countries disembarked from the ship, leaving without any established contact tracing measures. The first confirmation of a hantavirus case among passengers occurred on May 2, according to the WHO.

The KLM flight attendant who tested negative had been working on a flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on April 25 and fell ill thereafter. The Dutch woman, who had been traveling with her husband who died on the cruise, was too unwell to continue on the flight and was taken off in Johannesburg, where she subsequently passed away.

The Dutch public health service is currently engaged in contact tracing for passengers who interacted with this woman prior to the medical emergency.

On Friday, a third British national who was on board the ship was suspected of having the hantavirus. The U.K. Health Security Agency confirmed this individual is located on Tristan da Cunha, a remote British territory in the South Atlantic, but there are no updates on their condition.

In Spain, health officials reported that a woman in Alicante displays symptoms consistent with hantavirus and is undergoing testing. She was on the same flight as the Dutch woman who died. Additionally, two British passengers from the ship are confirmed infected, one of whom is hospitalized in the Netherlands, and the other in South Africa.

South African authorities are working to connect with individuals who were on the ship and have since disembarked, concentrating on a flight that left the remote island of St. Helena for Johannesburg on April 25.

Some U.S. states are monitoring a small number of residents who returned home after being on the ship, though none are exhibiting symptoms.

Plans for American Passengers’ Quarantine

The U.S. is set to dispatch a plane to repatriate around 17 Americans still aboard the cruise. These individuals will be quarantined at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Fortunately, no one has shown symptoms.

Health professionals will determine the length of the quarantine based on assessments of the passengers’ health. The specialized medical unit in Omaha has previously managed cases of Ebola and early COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, expressed confidence in their preparation for such events.

The British government is also organizing a charter flight to evacuate nearly two dozen of its nationals from the ship.