Three passengers evacuated as hantavirus-hit cruise ship heads to Tenerife
May 7, 2026 #Hantavirus #MVHondius #CanaryIslands
A cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak is heading to the Canary Islands after C
May 7, 2026 #Hantavirus #MVHondius #CanaryIslands
A cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak is heading to the Canary Islands after Cape Verde refused permission for it to dock.
Three infected passengers were evacuated from the MV Hondius to the Netherlands from Cape Verde on Wednesday, after the outbreak was linked to at least two deaths.
One of those who later died was a German woman who had travelled onwards from the ship.
The vessel is carrying nearly 150 passengers and crew, with the operator saying no-one currently on board is showing symptoms.
Health officials say the strain involved is the Andean variant of hantavirus, which can spread through very close human contact.
Authorities are tracing passengers who disembarked in St Helena before travelling onwards to South Africa and other destinations.
The World Health Organization says the overall public health risk remains low, although several governments are closely monitoring the situation.
The ship is expected to arrive in Tenerife on Sunday after Spain’s central government approved docking plans despite objections from officials in the Canary Islands.
Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane reports.
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