MV Hondius Heads to Canary Islands After Hantavirus Evacuations

Overview

• The expedition ship, which left Ushuaia on April 1, departed Cabo Verde on Wednesday after three patients were airlifted to the Netherlands, and it is now sailing to Tenerife with 146 people under strict precautions.
• The World Health Organization reports three laboratory‑confirmed infections and five suspected cases linked to the voyage, including a recent passenger now isolated in a Zurich hospital.
• South African testing identified the Andes strain in some patients, the only known hantavirus that can rarely spread between people during very close contact such as sharing a cabin or providing hands‑on care.
• Spain’s health ministry says everyone arriving will receive medical checks in the Canary Islands before repatriation, and the regional president of the archipelago has opposed receiving the ship.
• Health agencies in Europe, Africa, and the Americas are tracing contacts from earlier stopovers, including Santa Helena and a Johannesburg flight connected to a deceased passenger, and WHO says the overall public‑health risk remains low.