WHO chief heads to Tenerife for hantavirus ship evacuation

WHO Chief Arrives in Spain to Oversee Evacuation of Hantavirus-Stricken Cruise Ship

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Spain on Saturday to coordinate the evacuation of more than 140 passengers and crew from a cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak.

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius is expected to dock in Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa, early Sunday. Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska are joining Tedros to oversee the operation.

“WHO continues to actively monitor the situation, coordinate support and next steps,” Tedros stated on social media platform X. He added that currently, no one aboard the vessel is showing symptoms of the virus, and “the risk for the population of Canary Islands and globally remains low.”

Three people have died since the outbreak began, while five passengers who previously left the ship have been confirmed infected with hantavirus. Both the United States and United Kingdom have committed to sending aircraft to evacuate their citizens.

Virginia Barcones, head of Spain’s emergency services, confirmed passengers will disembark into a “completely isolated, cordoned-off area” as a precautionary measure.

The virus detected in this outbreak has been identified as Andes hantavirus, which typically spreads through inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings. Unlike most hantavirus strains, Andes virus may be capable of human-to-human transmission in rare cases. The incubation period ranges from one to eight weeks after exposure, complicating containment efforts.

Spanish authorities have activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism, positioning a specially equipped medical evacuation plane for high-consequence infectious diseases on standby. If any passengers develop symptoms during disembarkation, the aircraft will transport them to mainland Europe for specialized care.

The Dutch government is working closely with Spanish officials and the cruise operator to arrange repatriation for Dutch nationals. According to a letter from Dutch foreign and health ministers to parliament, asymptomatic individuals will undergo a six-week home quarantine with monitoring by local health services. As the vessel is Dutch-flagged, the Netherlands may temporarily accommodate and monitor citizens of other nationalities as well.

The international response has intensified as health authorities across four continents race to track down and monitor more than two dozen passengers who disembarked before the outbreak was detected. Officials are also tracing others who may have come into contact with these individuals.

Concerns escalated when a KLM flight attendant who had served on a flight boarded by an infected passenger fell ill. However, the WHO confirmed Friday that this flight attendant tested negative for hantavirus, easing fears about widespread transmission.

“The risk remains absolutely low,” said Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesman. “This is not a new COVID.”

The timeline of the outbreak has raised questions about early detection protocols. The first passenger death occurred on board April 24, but it wasn’t until May 2 that health authorities confirmed hantavirus in a ship passenger. During this critical period, approximately two dozen people from at least 12 different countries departed the ship without contact tracing, according to Dutch officials and the cruise operator.

A Dutch passenger whose husband died aboard the ship became too ill to complete a Johannesburg-to-Amsterdam flight on April 25 and was removed from the aircraft in Johannesburg, where she later died. Dutch public health officials are now conducting contact tracing for all passengers who interacted with her.

British health authorities reported Friday that a third UK national who had been on the cruise is suspected of being infected. This individual is currently on Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory in the South Atlantic where the ship stopped in April.

Additionally, Spanish health officials are testing a woman in Alicante province who shows symptoms consistent with hantavirus infection. She was reportedly on the same flight as the Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg.

South African authorities are focusing their contact tracing efforts on an April 25 flight from St. Helena to Johannesburg, which carried passengers who had disembarked from the cruise ship. Meanwhile, health officials in multiple U.S. states are monitoring residents who were aboard the vessel and have since returned home, as well as their contacts, though none has shown symptoms thus far.