Three people evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship as Spain says vessel can dock

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British crew member among those evacuated from MV Hondius, which is now heading for Canary Islands

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Three people with suspected hantavirus, including a British doctor, have been medically evacuated from a cruise ship.

The British crew member, along with a Dutch colleague and another passenger, were taken from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius for onward travel to the Netherlands, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Spanish health officials said the British medic was in a more stable condition, having previously been in a critical condition.

The evacuation means the ship, with close to 150 people onboard, can now continue on its three-day journey to the Canary Islands after Spanish authorities gave permission for the vessel to dock. But a row has erupted, with the president of the Canary Islands expressing concern over the ship docking in Tenerife.

The ship has been anchored off Cape Verde while arrangements were put in place to evacuate the crew members.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, posted on X: “Three suspected hantavirus case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands in coordination with WHO, the ship’s operator and national authorities from Cabo Verde, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.

“WHO continues to work with the ship’s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed.

“Monitoring and follow-up for passengers onboard and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship’s operators and national health authorities. At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low.”

A Dutch couple and a German national who had been on the ship have died and a British national is in intensive care in South Africa.

The UK foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the UK hd been working with other countries to facilitate evacuations and Foreign Office staff were in direct contact with British nationals onboard. “The Foreign Office is working urgently to support the UKHSA’s [UK Health Security Agency’s] work overseas and to make sure British nationals on the MV Hondius can all get safely home with proper protection for public health,” she said.

Since the start of the outbreak, the WHO has emphasised that the risk to the public is low. People usually become infected with hantavirus through contact with infected rodents or their urine, their droppings or their saliva, and human-to-human transmission is rare. But a limited spread among close contacts has been observed in some previous outbreaks with the Andes strain, which has spread in South America, including Argentina, where the cruise trip started in March.

South Africa’s health ministry said contact tracing was under way, with 62 contacts identified, including flight crew and healthcare workers. The contacts will be monitored until an incubation period has passed. None have been diagnosed with the hantavirus so far.

Cape Verde was meant to be the ship’s final destination but the country off west Africa has not allowed the vessel to put passengers ashore because of the outbreak.

Late on Tuesday, the Spanish health ministry said it had been asked by the WHO and the EU to take the MV Hondius and had agreed “in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles”.

The Canary Islands’ leader, Fernando Clavijo, said he was opposed to the ship docking and requested an urgent meeting with Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. The decision ultimately belongs to the central government.

The tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement: “At this stage, the planned destination for m/v Hondius following the successful medical transfer is the Canary Islands. Oceanwide Expeditions remains in close and continual discussion with relevant authorities regarding our exact point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and a precise timeline.

“We are unable to confirm the details of onward travel for guests at this stage. This is dependent on medical advice and the outcome of stringent screening procedures.”

The UK Foreign Office said it had been in touch directly with all British passengers onboard the ship.

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