(Bloomberg) — A cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak is beginning the process of evacuating passengers in Spain’s Canary Islands, nearly a month after an outbreak of the contagious disease.
The vessel, the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, docked near Tenerife on Sunday and people began disembarking, starting with Spanish citizens, Spain’s health ministry said.
“The docking took place at 6:30 a.m. and was successful despite all the adverse effects,” Health Minister Mónica García said in a statement. Medics found that “all passengers are asymptomatic,” she added.
Passengers from the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium will follow and be flown to their countries, with both a Spanish and a Dutch plane on standby. The Irish government is sending a plane to Spain on Sunday to repatriate two Irish nationals, who will then be sent to a medical facility for monitoring and isolation, which could last several weeks, broadcaster RTE said.
The ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions BV, arrived from Cape Verde. The health crisis sparked a cross-border response, with global authorities coordinating evacuations, screening and repatriation in several countries.
Hantavirus is a rare infection that is typically spread by contact with infected rodent droppings or by inhaling contaminated dust. Symptoms can take weeks to appear, and in severe cases the disease can rapidly progress to respiratory failure, with a fatality rate of up to 50% in America.
The World Health Organization has identified eight medical cases linked to the voyage – five suspected and three laboratory confirmed – including three deaths. The passengers, crew and staff of the expedition from 23 countries remain on the Honda.
The impact of the outbreak spread beyond the ship. In Italy, some passengers are self-isolating after it was discovered that four people were traveling with one of the victims, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.
The outbreak began when the first patient, a Dutch man, and his wife traveled to South America before boarding a ship in Argentina on April 1. Both have since died.
–With help from Angela Cullen.
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