Hantavirus-hit cruise ship to head to Spain

A luxury cruise ship hit by the deadly hantavirus outbreak is preparing to sail from the Cape Verde Islands to Europe after the Spanish government allowed it to dock in the Canary Islands.

The Spanish Ministry of Health said it was asked by the World Health Organization and the European Union to take the MV Hondius “in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles.”

He also stated that, at the official request of the Dutch government, he would be taken on a medical flight on Tuesday evening, where the ship’s doctor, a Dutch national, said he was seriously ill.

A Dutch couple and a German citizen have died since the outbreak emerged in early April, while a British citizen was evacuated from the ship and is in intensive care in South Africa, officials said.

Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator of the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, said two crew members needed urgent medical care.

Another person with a suspected case reported only mild fever.

Cape Verde was planned to be the ship’s final destination, but the country off the coast of West Africa did not allow the ship to disembark passengers.

The Spanish Ministry of Health said that upon arrival in the Canary Islands, at a yet-to-be-determined port, crew and passengers will be examined, treated and sent back to their home countries in coordination with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and WHO.

The health ministry said all necessary safety measures will be taken with medical care and transportation in special facilities and vehicles to prevent contact with local people and protect healthcare workers.

“The World Health Organization announced that Cape Verde cannot perform this operation,” the statement said.

“The Canary Islands are the closest location with the necessary capabilities.

“Spain has a moral and legal obligation to help these people, including many Spanish citizens.”

The Canary Islands are one of Europe’s main destinations for immigrants from West Africa; Tens of thousands of people arrive every year in rubber dinghies and rickety fishing boats.

Spain’s health ministry said the MV Hondius will dock in Gran Canaria or Tenerife, three or four days away from Cape Verde, Oceanwide.

Health officials say there were about 150 people from 23 countries on board.

Cape Verde National Health Director Angela Gomes said the evacuations would take place “in the coming hours.”

The Dutch foreign ministry said it was preparing for a medical evacuation of three people from the ship to the Netherlands.

People are usually infected with hantavirus through contact with infected rodents or their urine, feces, or saliva.

But WHO said it suspected rare human-to-human transmission among very close contacts was occurring in Hondius.

“We believe that human-to-human transmission can occur between really close contacts, husband and wife, and people who share the same cabin,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, told reporters in Geneva.

Van Kerkhove also sent a direct message to people on board.

“We are working with the countries you come from. We hear you, we know you are afraid.”

Human-to-human transmission is not common and the UN health agency reiterated that the risk to the wider public is low from a disease that is often spread through contact with infected rodents.

Limited spread among close contacts has been observed in some previous outbreaks of the Andean strain, which has spread throughout South America, including Argentina, and which WHO believes may have played a role.

Hondius left Ushuaia in southern Argentina in March. The WHO said it was told there were no mice on board.

The UN health agency said the study’s assumption was that the Dutch couple, who joined the ship in Argentina after traveling in the country, were infected before boarding.

It was stated that other cases may be infected during bird watching trips to islands where birds and rodents live. Such excursions are part of the cruise.

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