Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Arrives Off Spain’s Tenerife Island

(MENAFN) A cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak arrived off Spain's Tenerife Island early Sunday, triggering a large-scale medical evacuation as authorities raced to screen 150 passengers and crew before dispersing them to their home countries.

The MV Hondius anchored near Granadilla Port at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT), according to a news agency, as Spanish health and emergency teams mobilized for one of the most complex maritime medical operations the island has seen in recent memory.

Health officials confirmed six hantavirus infections among those aboard, with two additional suspected cases under review. Three people have died — two of them on the vessel itself.

Passenger Breakdown
Of the 150 individuals on board, 38 are Filipino nationals, all serving as crew members. British passengers form the largest civilian group at 23, followed by 17 Americans, 14 Spanish nationals, 11 Dutch, eight Germans, and five each from France and Ukraine. The remaining passengers include four Canadians and four Australians, three Turkish nationals, two each from India, Belgium, and Ireland, and one each from Greece, Poland, Portugal, Montenegro, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Argentina, and Guatemala.

Evacuation Protocol
All passengers are currently asymptomatic. They will be ferried ashore in groups of five by small boats for mandatory medical screening before being transferred by bus to an airport roughly six miles away for repatriation flights.

Officials outlined the screening process, saying, "They will be first assessed… checked to see if they have symptoms or not," and confirmed that an epidemiological questionnaire will be administered to each individual. The ship will remain anchored offshore and will not dock at any point during the operation.

Spanish nationals are expected to be evacuated first, with several to be transferred to a military hospital in Madrid for quarantine lasting one to two weeks, subject to individual medical assessments. The 17 American passengers will be flown to Nebraska, where they will be evaluated at the National Quarantine Unit — though mandatory quarantine is not anticipated, US health officials said.

A Doctor Steps Up Mid-Crisis
American oncologist Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, who was aboard as a passenger, stepped in to provide medical care after the ship's own doctor fell ill with the virus — a development he described to media as a rapidly escalating medical emergency. Kornfeld recounted that one patient died within 24 hours of his involvement, while both the ship's doctor and a staff member deteriorated as the outbreak spread.

He also noted that several infected individuals had already disembarked at earlier ports and were receiving treatment in the Netherlands, South Africa, and Switzerland. Despite this, no American passengers had tested positive as of Saturday, according to US health authorities. Kornfeld described a notable spirit of cooperation among those on board throughout the ordeal.

The Virus: Rare, Lethal, and Transmissible
Scientists identified the culprit as the Andes strain of hantavirus — the only known variant of the virus capable of spreading directly between humans, typically through close contact. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed five cases and three deaths linked to the outbreak, and noted that two of the passengers who later died had previously traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding the vessel.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated the situation a Level 3 emergency response — the agency's lowest emergency activation threshold. CDC officials said passengers will be monitored for approximately six weeks, in line with the virus's known incubation period. Health authorities across multiple US states are additionally tracking travelers who disembarked before the outbreak was officially confirmed.

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