Hantavirus: WHO chief reassures Tenerife residents as Spain prepares for cruise ship's arrival
What you need to know
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Spanish authorities are preparing to receive the MV Hondius, which is set to arrive at Tenerife in the Canary Islands early on Sunday morning
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The World Health Organization's chief Tedros stresses that the 'risk for the population of Canary Islands and globally remains low'
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The US, UK and several European countries will send planes to evacuate their citizens from the MV Hondius
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No passengers with symptoms are left on the cruise ship, according to the cruise company
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Some passengers disembarked from the ship before the infection was reported and countries around the world have raced to trace them and people they came into contact with
Stay with us for the latest news on the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak:
Skip next section Sanchez: Spain's 'moral and legal' duty to allow Hondius to dock05/09/2026May 9, 2026Sanchez: Spain's 'moral and legal' duty to allow Hondius to dock
It is Spain's "duty" to offer a safe port to a cruise ship hit with a deadly hantavirus outbreak for the evacuation of its passengers, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
The Hondius is due to arrive off the coast of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, early on Sunday morning.
Permitting the operation at the request of the World Health Organization (WHO) "is a moral and legal duty for our citizens, Europe and international law," Sanchez said on X after meeting with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Madrid.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DWsVSkip next section Flights home planned for virus-hit cruise ship passengers, says Spain05/09/2026May 9, 2026Flights home planned for virus-hit cruise ship passengers, says Spain
Spain said arrangements have been made to fly European passengers home when they leave the hantavirus-hit Hondius cruise ship.
"I can confirm that return flights to France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands have already been planned," Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told a news conference.
Grande-Marlaska said two planes from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism are on standby, adding that the UK and US had made their own repatriation arrangements for their citizens.
The Hondius is due to arrive off southern Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands, early on Sunday morning.
Spanish officials have insisted that all those aboard will be checked for symptoms and will be taken directly onto the runway before boarding planes.
Spanish nationals will be flown to Madrid by military plane, where they will be quarantined at a hospital.
MV Hondius heads to Canaries amid hantavirus tracing efforts
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https://p.dw.com/p/5DWsNSkip next section IN PICTURES: Spain prepares for arrival of hantavirus-stricken cruise ship05/09/2026May 9, 2026IN PICTURES: Spain prepares for arrival of hantavirus-stricken cruise ship
Karl Sexton EditorWHO chief Tedros speaks to MV Hondius captain after arrival in Spain
The secretary-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he had spoken to the captain of the MV Hondius after arriving in Spain on Saturday.
"I am in direct communication with captain Jan Dobrogowski and [WHO] colleague on board Dr Freddy Banza-Mutoka," Tedros said in a post on X, adding that he had been briefed that there were no new recorded cases of hantavirus on the ship.
Tedros said that he would "join senior government officials in a mission to Tenerife to oversee safe disembarkation of the passengers, crew members and health experts from MV Hondius cruise ship."
The WHO chief stressed that the "risk for the population of Canary Islands and globally remains low."
The Dutch-flagged vessel is scheduled to arrive in Tenerife in the Canary Islands early on Sunday, according to Spanish authorities.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DWQMSkip next section Risk to general public remains low — Spanish minister05/09/2026May 9, 2026Risk to general public remains low — Spanish minister
Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said at a Saturday press conference that the risk to the general public from a hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship on its way to Spanish territory remains low.
The Dutch-flagged vessel is to arrive in the Canary Islands between 4 and 6 a.m. local time (between 0300 and 0500 UTC) on Sunday, and passengers and crew will be taken to a “completely isolated, cordoned-off area,” she said.
The minister added the body of one deceased person will stay on board the ship alongside part of the crew and the vessel will then continue onward to the Netherlands, where it is to be disinfected in accordance with international protocols.
Garcia said that the evacuations will be timed in coordination with flights to the passengers' country of origin.
At the same press conference, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that a contingency plan was being prepared with the Netherlands for citizens of non-EU countries who do not have available evacuation flights.
He said that authorities had confirmed evacuation flights to Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DWNuSkip next section Spain PM Sanchez to meet WHO chief ahead of evacuations05/09/2026May 9, 2026Spain PM Sanchez to meet WHO chief ahead of evacuations
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is to meet with WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday, Sanchez's office said.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. local time (1500 UTC).
Tedros was set to visit Tenerife in the Canary Islands ahead of the arrival of a Dutch-flagged ship facing a hantavirus outbreak from which over 140 passengers are to be evacuated.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DWGPSkip next section WHO chief to assist in Tenerife evacuations — Spanish authorities05/09/2026May 9, 2026WHO chief to assist in Tenerife evacuations — Spanish authorities
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is to visit Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands to assist in evacuation efforts from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak, Spanish authorities said.
The WHO secretary-general is set to assist authorities in ensuring "coordination between administrations, health control" and in applying " planned surveillance and response protocols," Spanish ministry sources were cited by the AFP news agency as saying.
The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius is to arrive in Tenerife on Sunday.
The WHO has said that the risk to the general public from the outbreak is low, as the hantavirus is not highly contagious in human-to-human transmission.
There have been six confirmed cases of hantavirus linked to the ship, which is carrying over 140 passengers.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DVnqSkip next section What to know about Hantavirus cases if you're joining us on Saturday05/09/2026May 9, 2026What to know about Hantavirus cases if you're joining us on Saturday
Spanish authorities are preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew onboard a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials say they will perform careful evacuations.
The vessel is expected to arrive Sunday at the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa. Both the US and the UK have agreed to send planes to evacuate their citizens from the cruise ship.
Various health bodies around the world have been making sure that people are aware of the processes going into tracing and tracking people linked to the cruise ship.
There have been six confirmed cases of hantavirus linked to the ship, and all six have been confirmed as Andes virus, a type of hantavirus.
What's the latest update?
Spain said health officials were monitoring a person who was isolating after reporting symptoms.
A Dutch flight attendant tested negative after she was suspected of infection.
What's the bigger picture?
Three people have died since the vessel departed Argentina last month, while others have been evacuated from the ship for medical treatment. But it's important to note that not all deaths have been confirmed as cases of hantavirus infection.
Four patients remain hospitalized in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland, while a suspected case sent to Germany tested negative.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DVkOSkip next section Six hantavirus cases confirmed by testing, WHO says05/09/2026May 9, 2026Six hantavirus cases confirmed by testing, WHO says
The World Health Organization updated the number of confirmed hantavirus cases on Friday, reporting six confirmed cases out of eight suspected cases so far.
"Six cases were confirmed in the laboratory as hantavirus infections, all identified as being due to the Andes virus, known to be transmissible between humans," the WHO said in a statement in French.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DVbWSkip next section KLM flight attendant tests negative05/09/2026May 9, 2026KLM flight attendant tests negative
A flight attendant on Dutch flag carrier KLM who was suspected of having hantavirus, after coming into contact with an infected passenger from the cruise ship and later showed mild symptoms, has tested negative, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said Friday.
The flight attendant came into contact with a Dutch woman, the wife of the first person to die in the outbreak while she was briefly on a plane bound from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25. The woman was removed before take-off and later died at the hospital.
Lindmeier said the flight attendant testing negative was "good news," as an example of someone who came into contact with an infected person and still not catch the virus.
"It's not spreading anything close to how Covid was spreading," he added.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DVbVSkip next section UN health body says virus risk remains low05/09/2026May 9, 2026UN health body says virus risk remains low
The WHO insisted on Friday that the hantavirus outbreak posed a minimal risk to the general public.
"This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who's really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters.
A picture was emerging from MV Hondius where "even those who have been sharing cabins don't seem to be both infected in some cases", when one has fallen sick, he added.
"The virus is not that contagious that it easily jumps from person to person," Lindmeier said.
The WHO said Friday there were five confirmed and three suspected cases of the virus. There are no suspected cases remaining on the ship.
Spanish ministry sources said Friday that World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be on the ground in Tenerife on Saturday "to ensure coordination between administrations, health control, and the application of the planned surveillance and response protocols."
https://p.dw.com/p/5DVbUSkip next section Woman in Spain in isolation over suspected infection05/09/2026May 9, 2026Woman in Spain in isolation over suspected infection
Roshni Majumdar EditorSpanish authorities said Friday they were monitoring a woman who was on the same flight as a Dutch woman who contracted the Hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship and later died.
The Dutch woman was the wife of the first person to die in the outbreak on the Hondius.
Airline KLM said on Wednesday that she had briefly been on a plane bound from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25, but she was removed before take-off. She died the next day in a Johannesburg hospital and later tested positive for the virus.
Spanish health secretary Javier Padilla told journalists that the woman in Spain presented "symptoms mainly related to coughing while she was in her family home" in the eastern city of Alicante, Spanish health secretary Javier Padilla told journalists.
"We must say this is a pretty unlikely case," as the woman was seated two rows away from the Dutch woman on the KLM flight, Padilla said.
She is now in "an isolation room" in a hospital, which carried out a PCR test that will be analyzed and whose results "we hope to have in the first 24 hours," Padilla added.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DVbQSkip next section Hantavirus patients not likely infected in southern province: Argentine officials05/08/2026May 8, 2026Hantavirus patients not likely infected in southern province: Argentine officials
Argentine health officials say it's highly unlikely passengers aboard the Hondius cruise ship were infected with the hantavirus in Argentina's southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego.
Juan Petrina, director of epidemiology and environmental health for the province, told a press conference on Friday that the conclusion was based on the time frame between when the patients were in the province and the onset of symptoms.
"The calculations don't add up for them to have been infected in our province ... the possibility is practically nil," Petrina said.
The MV Hondius left Ushuaia, a city on Argentina's southern tip, on April 1. The cruise ship then headed across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde.
During the voyage, a number of passengers became infected with the hantavirus. Three subsequently died.
It's not clear where the virus came from.
Argentine investigators suspect a Dutch couple may have become infected while on a bird-watching trip before they boarded the cruise ship in Argentina.
https://p.dw.com/p/5DVVCSkip next section US plans evacuation flight for Americans on hantavirus ship05/08/2026May 8, 2026US plans evacuation flight for Americans on hantavirus ship
The US says it is organizing an evacuation flight for American nationals on a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of hantavirus.
The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius is currently on its way to the Canary Islands, where it is expected to arrive on Sunday morning.
"The Department of State is closely tracking the hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean and maintaining close contact with the cruise ship staff, Americans on board, and US and international health authorities," a US State Department spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said a repatriation flight is being arranged, and that the department is ready to provide consular assistance to Americans on board as soon as the ship reaches the island of Tenerife.
There are 17 US citizens among the more than 140 passengers aboard the ship, according to cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
MV Hondius heads to Canaries amid hantavirus tracing efforts
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https://p.dw.com/p/5DVA9Skip next section Spain: Hantavirus evacuation must happen Sunday-Monday due to weather05/08/2026May 8, 2026Spain: Hantavirus evacuation must happen Sunday-Monday due to weather
Spain's government says passengers aboard the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak will be flown to their home countries soon after the vessel arrives in the Canary Islands on Sunday.
"That same day, we will have planes available and will be able to start getting these people onto the planes," Cabinet minister Angel Victor Torres told journalists.
Separately, the Spanish archipelago's regional government said adverse weather conditions meant the evacuation had to happen swiftly.
"The only window of opportunity we have to carry out this operation is around 12 o'clock on Sunday morning and until conditions change from Monday," regional government spokesman Alfonso Cabello told reporters.
He said failure to get passengers out in that window could mean the ship will have to leave again.
The MV Hondius is scheduled to reach the port of Granadilla on the island of Tenerife on Sunday morning.
Nearly 150 people from more than 20 countries are still on board the vessel.
Spanish authorities have said the ship will not be allowed to dock in Tenerife. Instead, it will anchor off shore, with passengers transferred to the port by a smaller boat before being taken to the airport by bus.
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