Two people have tested positive for hantavirus after being evacuated from the cruise liner MV Hondius, health officials said.
A French female passenger evacuated from the MV Hondius has tested positive for the virus and her condition is worsening, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Monday.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday that one of the 17 Americans being evacuated had tested slightly positive for the Andes strain of the virus, while the other had mild symptoms.
Spanish authorities said 94 people of 19 different nationalities were evacuated as part of the operation – 41 days after the MV Hondius vessel departed from southern Argentina and nine days after it first tested positive for the viral infection.
The Dutch-flagged vessel will refuel in the morning and is expected to depart for the Netherlands with about 30 crew members at 7pm on Monday, AFP writes. Among the crew members are four Ukrainians who will remain as part of the crew to ensure the ship’s passage to the Netherlands.
The cruise liner MV Hondius, on which the hantavirus outbreak occurred, arrived on the Spanish island of Tenerife on 10 May. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Spanish authorities said no one on board the ship has yet shown symptoms of the virus.
The MV Hondius sailed from Argentina about a month ago to begin its journey across the Atlantic. According to the latest data, eight confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus infection have been detected on the ship, and three people have died – a married couple from the Netherlands and a German national.
Earlier, WHO did not rule out that on board MV Hondius there could have been a human-to-human transmission of hantavirus. Usually this virus is transmitted from rodents, but on 5 May WHO said that in this case it could have spread through “very close contacts” on board the cruise liner. Experts say such transmission is rare and the risk to the public is low.
There are several varieties of hantaviruses. The infection can cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome or hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. Both diseases are considered dangerous and there is currently no vaccine for hantavirus.
Evacuation from MV Hondius: two people tested positive for hantavirus