In a coordinated global response to an emerging hantavirus outbreak linked to a Dutch-flagged cruise ship, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will travel to Spain’s Canary Island of Tenerife this weekend to oversee evacuation and public health protocols, Spanish government ministry sources confirmed Friday. Tedros will join Spain’s health and interior ministers at an on-island command post on Saturday to align cross-administration coordination, strengthen health monitoring, and ensure planned surveillance and response measures are implemented correctly, the sources added.
Three passengers on the MV Hondius — a Dutch couple and a German national — have already died from complications of the rare virus, which is most commonly carried and spread by wild rodent populations. A number of other passengers and crew have also fallen ill, and testing has confirmed the presence of Andes virus, the only known hantavirus strain capable of person-to-person transmission, a development that sparked widespread international concern. The vessel, which carries roughly 150 passengers and crew on board, is scheduled to reach Tenerife’s waters on Sunday, after which specialized repatriation flights will carry international passengers back to their home countries.
Despite rising public anxiety, WHO officials emphasized Friday that the overall risk of widespread transmission to the general public remains extremely low. “This is a dangerous virus, but only for people who have direct exposure to an infected individual; the risk to the broader population stays absolutely minimal,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva. Early observations from the outbreak on the MV Hondius have reinforced this assessment, Lindmeier noted: in multiple instances where infected passengers shared close cabin space with travel companions, the secondary contacts have not developed infections. “The virus is not so contagious that it spreads easily from person to person,” he explained. As of Friday, the WHO recorded five confirmed cases and three suspected cases of the virus on the ship, with no active suspected cases remaining on board.
In one promising development Friday, the WHO announced that a KLM flight attendant who developed mild symptoms after coming into contact with an infected Hondius passenger tested negative for hantavirus. The infected passenger, the wife of the first fatality in the outbreak, boarded a KLM flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on April 25 but was removed from the aircraft before takeoff, and died the next day in a Johannesburg hospital. Lindmeier called the negative test result “good news”, as it confirms that even close contact with an infected person does not guarantee transmission.
Spanish health officials confirmed Friday that a separate passenger on that same KLM flight, who was seated two rows behind the infected woman, developed symptoms and is currently isolated in a hospital in eastern Spain while undergoing testing. Health Secretary Javier Padilla described the risk of this case being a positive infection as “pretty unlikely”. Additionally, a South African passenger who was also on the flight remains asymptomatic in her home country after completing a week-long stay in Barcelona before returning, Spanish interior sources confirmed.
The MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 for a transatlantic cruise bound for Cape Verde. Early in the voyage, three suspected cases — two of which later tested positive for the virus — were evacuated from Cape Verde to the Netherlands for treatment. German health officials confirmed Friday that the third suspected case tested negative, though the individual will remain under public health observation as a precaution. Two Dutch public health specialists, including a European Centres for Disease Control expert and a WHO representative, are now on board the vessel conducting ongoing risk assessments.
Kasem Ibn Hattuta, a YouTuber traveling as a passenger on the Hondius, said the arrival of medical specialists has reassured passengers on board. “We finally left Cape Verde which was a relief for everyone on board, especially knowing that our sick colleagues are finally getting the medical care they need,” he shared in a statement. Hattuta added that the passenger cohort has remained in good spirits despite the disruption: “People are smiling and taking the situation calmly.” All passengers and crew are following public health guidelines, including mandatory mask-wearing in indoor spaces and physical distancing, he noted.
Multiple countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have already organized dedicated repatriation flights to retrieve their citizens from the ship. Spanish authorities have confirmed that the vessel will anchor off the coast of Tenerife and will not be permitted to dock at the island’s port. After anchoring, passengers will be transferred to shore via smaller utility vessels, then transported by chartered bus directly to Tenerife’s airport for their repatriation flights. The Canarian regional government noted that the entire evacuation must be completed between Sunday and Monday, as adverse weather conditions are forecast to move into the area after that window.
The announcement of the ship’s arrival drew protests from dock workers in Tenerife on Friday, who raised public safety concerns about the outbreak. During its voyage, the MV Hondius made stops at several remote British territories in the South Atlantic. British health authorities confirmed Friday they are investigating a suspected hantavirus case on Tristan da Cunha, one of the world’s most remote inhabited settlements, which is home to roughly 220 permanent residents.