Sick passengers have been evacuated by boat from the cruise ship – Image: Reuters TV/REUTERS
The flight is believed to be carrying at least one of three patients evacuated from the MV Hondius ship. Spain is contentiously allowing the ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak to dock in the Canary Islands.
What you need to know
- A medical evacuation flight has landed in Amsterdam
- The cruise ship where the hantavirus outbreak occurred has started moving from Cape Verde
- Spain’s Health Ministry has said it will allow the luxury cruise ship to dock at the Canary Island of Tenerife
- The regional government of Spain’s Canary Islands objects, saying there is insufficient information to reassure the public
The cruise ship hit by a rare hantavirus outbreak will set sail for the Canary Islands. The journey from the Cape Verde Islands will take three to four days. Spain has granted permission for the ship to dock in Tenerife.
Dutch hantavirus victims visited two countries before Argentina
Argentina’s Health Ministry said the Dutch couple who died of hantavirus had been in Chile and Uruguay before boarding the MV Hondius in Ushuaia, Argentina.
The husband died onboard the ship on April 11 and his body was disembarked in Saint Helena, while his wife, who was feeling unwell, also left the ship at Saint Helena and was later evacuated to a hospital in Johannesburg, where she died.
The Argentine Health Ministry said it was sending experts to Ushuaia to capture and test rodents for the virus “in areas linked to the route” that the pair of tourists took.
The husband-and-wife arrived in Argentina on November 27, then traveled to Chile and Uruguay before returning to Argentina on March 27 to board the MV Hondius on April 1, authorities said, without commenting on where they could have caught the virus.
But the ministry did say that the Andes strain of the virus has not been detected in Tierra del Fuego province, where Ushuaia is situated, since 1996.
Hantavirus: Two passengers self isolate in the UK
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that none of the British citizens onboard the luxury cruise ship had reported Hantavirus symptoms, but two who returned to the UK have been advised to self isolate.
“UKHSA is aware of two people who have returned to the UK independently having been on board the MV Hondius,” the agency said.
“Neither of these individuals is currently reporting symptoms. They are receiving advice and support from UKHSA and have been advised to self-isolate,” the agency added.
UKHSA confirmed that one British national was among three people with suspected hantavirus who have been evacuated from the Hondius to receive medical care in the Netherlands.
The agency said that of the the remaining British nationals on board, none of them are currently reporting symptoms, but they are being “closely monitored.”
UKHSA said the passengers can be repatriated once the ship docks at its next destination, provided they do not develop symptoms.
MV Hondius sets sail from Praia bound for Tenerife
The cruise ship at the center of the outbreak, the MV Hondius, set sail from Cape Verde for the Canary Islands on Wednesday evening, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.
It currently plans to sail for Tenerife and to dock on Saturday, at least according to the Spanish government’s stated plans.
However, the local government in the Canary Islands has made its reservations clear and the ship is likely to be at sea for some time before it can dock in any case.
Nearly 150 people are on board the ship, with the known medical emergencies among the passengers having been flown out for treatment in Europe.
M/V Hondius is the world’s first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel and was built from the ground up for expedition cruising, according to global shipping company Oceanwide Expeditions – Image: Oceanwide Expeditions
DW.com/NAN 07-05-26
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