Passengers aboard the MV Hondius began leaving the ship Sunday after it arrived near Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, as authorities launched an international evacuation effort tied to a deadly hantavirus outbreak. Travelers were transferred ashore in small, carefully controlled groups before boarding charter flights back to their home countries. Officials from the WHO and Spain’s government supervised the evacuation, with workers and passengers wearing masks, respirators, hazmat suits, and other protective gear throughout the operation.
Health officials said all passengers were screened upon arrival and initially appeared symptom-free. However, French officials later confirmed that one passenger began showing possible hantavirus symptoms during a repatriation flight. The individual, along with four other French evacuees, was immediately placed into strict isolation for testing and monitoring.
At least nine confirmed or suspected hantavirus infections have now been linked to the cruise, including three deaths — a Dutch couple and a German woman. Two fatalities occurred onboard, while another passenger died after being transferred to a clinic in South Africa.
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said the evacuation process was proceeding smoothly, with passengers being flown to countries including Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, Ireland, and the United States. Authorities emphasized that evacuees were kept separated from the public throughout the operation, with medical tents, protective equipment, and specially arranged transportation used at Tenerife’s Granadilla port.
Investigators believe the outbreak likely began after exposure to infected rodents in northern Argentina or Chile, where the long-tailed rice rat — known to carry the Andes strain — is common. Some early patients had reportedly traveled through that region before boarding the ship. The World Health Organization has repeatedly stressed that the overall risk to the public remains low. WHO epidemiologist Dr. Boris Pavlin explained that the virus involved is the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare variant capable of limited person-to-person transmission through very close contact. “This is not COVID, this is not passing someone in a hallway in an airport outside at a stadium and getting infected,” Pavlin said.
The outbreak was first reported to the WHO on May 2, weeks after the ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina. At the time, the vessel carried roughly 150 passengers and crew members from more than 15 countries. The average passenger age was reported to be around 65, a demographic considered more vulnerable to severe illness from hantavirus, which can carry a fatality rate of up to 50%.
Canadian passengers are expected to self-isolate for at least 21 days, while French evacuees will undergo hospital monitoring before completing extended quarantine periods at home. U.S. passengers — including 17 Americans — are being flown to Nebraska, where they will be monitored at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s specialized biocontainment unit.
Once all passengers are removed, a reduced crew will sail the Dutch-operated vessel to Rotterdam for disinfection. The body of one passenger who died onboard will remain on the ship during the journey.
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