WHO Director-General in Tenerife Amid Hantavirus Concerns

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, arrived in Tenerife on Saturday to oversee the evacuation of more than 100 individuals from a cruise ship experiencing an outbreak of the rare hantavirus.

Speaking to the residents of the Canary Islands, where the ship is currently anchored, Tedros acknowledged their concerns, noting the lingering effects of the global coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020.

“This disease is not COVID,” he remarked, emphasizing in a letter he penned earlier that the risk to the local population is minimal.

He explained that while hantavirus is not the same as coronavirus, the memories of past traumas still affect how people perceive such situations.

“That’s also why I felt it was important to be here,” he said. “It’s easy to communicate from a distance, but I had to adjust my plans because this matter is crucial not just to the world, but to the people of Tenerife.”

The WHO reported on Friday that eight passengers on the ship have either confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus, with three fatalities. However, Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s operator, stated that none of the remaining 147 individuals, including 60 crew members, are showing symptoms.

Tedros mentioned that there would likely be six evacuation flights for EU countries and four for non-EU destinations.

According to Oceanwide Expeditions, there are 17 Americans aboard the MV Hondius, who will be taken ashore in small boats and immediately placed on a plane ready for departure. The plane, arranged by the U.S. government under the oversight of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will transport them to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska in Omaha.

“I can imagine they’re eager to return home, but we need to ensure their safety first,” remarked Maria van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, during a Saturday press conference.

Each nation with passengers on the ship is expected to follow suit with similar evacuations, as suggested by the Spanish Health Ministry. The WHO also advised that evacuees should be kept in isolation for 42 days following their last potential exposure to the virus.

Hantavirus is typically contracted through close contact with rodents and is not transmitted between people. However, tests on affected individuals from the Hondius confirmed they contracted the Andes strain, the only variant capable of person-to-person transmission.

Still, health officials believe the risk of widespread contagion remains extremely low.

“I understand that the term ‘outbreak’ can evoke unsettling memories, especially with a ship approaching your shores,” Tedros stated in his earlier letter to the Canary Islands’ residents. “The trauma of 2020 is something we still carry, and I don’t take it lightly. But it’s important to stress: this is not another COVID.”

“The public health threat from hantavirus is currently low,” he reiterated. “We’ve made this clear, and I want to reaffirm it to you.”

The ship embarked from Argentina on April 1, visiting several remote islands in the South Atlantic, including British territories like Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena.

The outbreak is believed to have begun with a Dutch couple who traveled through South America, where the Andes strain is found, prior to the cruise. They had been bird-watching in areas known for rodent populations that tested positive for hantavirus, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.

The husband died on April 11 during the voyage, and his wife was among 32 individuals who disembarked in Saint Helena. She later traveled to South Africa and passed away shortly after being removed from a KLM flight due to illness.

Numerous passengers who were either on that flight or disembarked in Saint Helena are currently under monitoring in various locations worldwide, including the U.S. None of those being observed in U.S. states like Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Arizona, New Jersey, and California are showing any symptoms, according to health department officials.