Spain grants hantavirus-hit cruise ship permission to dock in Canary Islands

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - MADRID — A Dutch-flagged cruise ship that has been hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak on board was preparing to sail from Cape Verde toward Europe on Wednesday after the Spanish government gave permission for it to dock in the Canary Islands.

The Spanish Health Ministry said it was asked by the World Health Organization and the European Union to take the MV Hondius “in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles.”

Two crew members, including the ship's British doctor, require urgent medical care and were due to be evacuated on a hospital aircraft to the Canary Islands on Tuesday. A third person linked to a German national who died was also due to be evacuated.

Officials were determining which passengers required urgent evacuation from Cape Verde, where the ship was docked, the health ministry added.

Three passengers who were aboard the MV Hondius have died, after it set sail from Argentina on its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean around a month ago.

Seven cases of hantavirus — two confirmed and five suspected — have so far been identified in people who were on the ship, according to the latest WHO update.

The two confirmed cases are a Dutch woman, who is among those who died, and a 69-year-old UK national who was evacuated to South Africa for medical treatment.

The woman's husband also died but he is not a confirmed case, nor is the German national who passed away on May 2.

South Africa's health ministry said the two confirmed cases are linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, according to a Reuters report. That strain is known to cause human-to-human transmission between people in close contact.

Around 150 people from 23 countries remained aboard under "strict precautionary measures",said Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship's operator.

Aside from the British crew member, there are 22 other British nationals on board.

Spain's health ministry said the remaining passengers would go on to the Canary Islands, where they were expected to arrive within three to four days, adding that the exact port had not yet been decided.

Oceanwide Expeditions said its plan was to sail to "Gran Canaria or Tenerife".

It said WHO had explained that Cape Verde "cannot carry out this operation".

"The Canary Islands are the closest location with the necessary capabilities. Spain has a moral and legal obligation to assist these people, among whom are several Spanish citizens," the statement added.

After arriving at the Canary Islands, crew and passengers would be examined, given whatever care was needed and would then be able to begin their journeys back home, Spain's health ministry said in a statement.

All interactions with those who had been on the MV Hondius would happen in "special spaces and transports specifically set up for this situation", the ministry said.

This is to help in "avoiding all contact with the local population and ensuring the safety of healthcare personnel", it added.

Hantavirus is usually spread from rodents, but the WHO has said it could have spread among "really close contacts" aboard the ship. However, itt stressed the risk to the public was low.