A Spanish passenger has tested positive for hantavirus shortly after leaving the cruise ship Hondius, as health officials moved all remaining passengers and crew off the vessel after an outbreak on board. The passenger was taken to hospital after the positive test but has not shown symptoms so far, Spain’s health ministry said.
The last group of 28 people left the ship under strict safety measures and flew to Eindhoven on two aircraft. The Hondius then set sail for Rotterdam with a reduced crew, after it had been brought alongside a pier in Tenerife because stronger winds made disembarkation by boat too risky, according to Spain’s health minister Mónica García.
The incident has increased concern in Tenerife about infected rodents reaching land. The regional government of the Canary Islands had argued the Hondius should not dock because of fears that mice carrying hantavirus could come ashore, although García said experts had ruled that out.
The Hondius, which sails under the Dutch flag, is now on a six-day return journey and is expected to arrive in Rotterdam on Sunday evening, according to operator Oceanwide Expeditions. The ship had been anchored off Tenerife while authorities managed the evacuation of passengers and crew after the outbreak was detected.
Since Sunday, a total of 122 people have been taken ashore under strict precautions and flown to their home countries. García thanked those involved and said she was proud that Spain had been able to carry out such a complicated and “unique” operation.
There are still 25 crew members and two medical staff on board, along with the body of a German woman who died at sea on 3 May. The ship will be thoroughly disinfected once it reaches the Netherlands.
The health scare has also spread beyond the ship. In the Netherlands, 12 hospital staff members who had contact with the infected Hondius passenger have entered preventive quarantine, after Radboud Hospital said not all procedures were followed when the patient arrived.
The hospital said the risk of actual infection for staff was low. The case adds to scrutiny over how authorities handled the outbreak and evacuation of those aboard the vessel, which had been linked to hantavirus illness among passengers and crew.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne virus that can cause serious illness in people, although symptoms vary and not all infected patients become severely unwell. Authorities in Spain and the Netherlands are now monitoring the fallout from the Hondius outbreak as the ship makes its way home.
