MV Hondius Hantavirus Outbreak Kills Three, France and U.S. Repatriate Positive Passengers

The MV Hondius, a cruise ship anchored in Spain’s Canary Islands, triggered an international health response after a hantavirus outbreak that has killed three people and led to repatriation flights for passengers to multiple countries.

“AGI - Una delle cinque passeggere francesi rimpatriate in aereo ieri dalla nave da crocieraMv Hondiusè risultata positiva all'hantaviruse le sue condizioni "sono peggiorate durante la notte"”

AGI

In France, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said a French woman repatriated in a flight from the ship tested positive for hantavirus and that her conditions "sono peggiorate durante la notte".

Anadolu Ajansı

In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services said one American on the repatriation flight "tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus," while another began showing symptoms.

The arrivals were handled with biocontainment and quarantine measures, including transfers to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where officials said 16 would stay for monitoring and another would be taken to a biocontainment unit.

The World Health Organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "there is nothing to fear, the risk is low, this is not another COVID," as countries continued evacuations and isolation of returning passengers.

As passengers left the ship in Tenerife, health authorities described a layered process of escorting travellers from the MV Hondius to aircraft in full-body protective gear and breathing masks, followed by monitoring in specialized facilities.

In Nebraska, Angela Hewlett, an infectious disease physician and the medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, said the person in the biocontainment unit was "doing well" and did not have any symptoms as of Monday morning.

BBC

In Atlanta, Emory University Hospital received two American passengers, and Dr. Aneesh Mehta said, "We have been preparing for years for viruses such as Andes viruses," describing the hospital’s readiness for the Andes strain.

The CDC’s Brendan Jackson, acting director of the Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said officials were being "very liberal" with how they were describing symptoms, and he added that having symptoms does not necessarily mean a patient has contracted hantavirus.

In Spain, the Guardian reported that Spanish health minister Javier Padilla Bernáldez said doctors told a French woman that her symptoms were likely anxiety, saying, "They were not thinking that these symptoms were compatible with hantavirus."

With the last passengers leaving the MV Hondius, authorities continued to trace contacts and keep returning travellers under monitoring as the Andes strain was linked to confirmed and suspected cases.

“Last passengers leave virus-hit cruise ship as three more test positive The last passengers have left the hantavirus-hit cruise ship, as authorities confirmed three new positive cases linked to the deadly outbreak”

BBC

In the United States, Dr. Michael Wadman said the 15 people sent to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center were "in good shape" and "in good spirits," while they were monitored after arriving in Omaha early Monday.

The BBC reported that the World Health Organization had confirmed seven cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius, with two others suspected, and it said a French national and an American who had previously returned home tested positive.

In France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said all five passengers on the repatriation flight "were immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice," and Rist later told France Inter radio that the woman’s condition worsened overnight.

Across the response, the WHO urged close monitoring of returning passengers, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the public should not panic, saying, "This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low."