Evacuations to Europe
Three individuals were evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship to the Netherlands on Wednesday, suspected of carrying hantavirus. The evacuees include a British national, a German national, and a Dutch national. The World Health Organization facilitated the evacuation. The cruise ship, which has been at the center of a hantavirus outbreak, had been anchored off Cape Verde.
Passengers Monitored
The U.K. Health Security Agency confirmed that a British national was evacuated from the cruise ship for care in the Netherlands. Two other British individuals who were on the MV Hondius have since returned to the U.K. and have been advised to self-isolate, though they are not reporting symptoms. Health officials in Georgia are monitoring two residents who were passengers on the Hondius but have shown no signs of infection. One resident is being monitored in Arizona, but is not symptomatic.
Voyage to Tenerife
The cruise ship departed Cape Verde and is en route to the Canary Islands, a journey expected to take three to four days, according to Oceanwide Expeditions. Spain's health minister, Monica Garcia Gomez, stated the ship would dock at Granadilla on the Canary island of Tenerife "within three days." The ship has nearly 150 people on board. The passengers have been told to remain in their cabins as much as possible.
Andes Strain Identified
South African authorities have identified the Andes strain of the hantavirus in two people who had been on the cruise. A Swiss man who had been on the ship also tested positive for the Andes strain. The French Ministry of Health confirmed a French "contact case" who traveled on the same flight as one of the patients evacuated to Johannesburg.
Political Opposition
Fernando Clavijo, leader of the Canary Islands regional government, initially rejected the plan for the ship to dock there. Clavijo wrote in a social media post that the Canary Islands "cannot accept decisions taken behind the backs of the Canary Islands institutions and without sufficient information to the population." José Domingo Regalado, the mayor of Granadilla de Abona in Tenerife, also opposed the arrival of the MV Hondius at the municipality's port.
Investigation of Outbreak
Argentina's health ministry is reconstructing the itinerary of a Dutch couple who traveled through southern Argentina and Chile before the expedition. The ministry will also conduct rodent capture and analysis in Ushuaia, where the ship departed on April 1. The CDC is "preparing medical support" for the 17 Americans aboard the cruise ship, according to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, acting director.
Cruise Impact
There have been at least eight suspected or confirmed cases tied to the cruise ship, including three deaths. Oceanwide Expeditions stated two infectious disease specialists were heading from the Netherlands to the cruise. The cruise operator confirmed a 70-year-old Dutch man died on board the ship on April 11.
Quarantine Concerns
Ann Lindstrand, the WHO representative in Cape Verde, said that if needed, a quarantine could last as long as two months. She noted that "eight weeks is a horribly long time to be in quarantine."
Public Health Risk
Dr. Céline Gounder said the largest outbreak of the Andes strain was in Argentina in 2018, leading to 34 cases and 11 deaths. Gounder emphasized that hantavirus remains rare, with fewer than 900 cases over 30 years in the U.S. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the way hantavirus is transmitted "is very different than COVID and flu."
Once the ship docks in Tenerife, everyone on board will undergo a medical assessment, and those from abroad who are fit to travel will be repatriated to their home countries, according to Spain’s Health Minister Mónica García.
