Spain and the WHO deploy a health operation after hantavirus outbreak at sea

The cruise ship MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife after weeks of isolation and international epidemiological surveillance.

This weekend, passengers and crew members of the MV Hondius disembarked in Tenerife under an international health operation coordinated between the Spanish authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO).

After several weeks at sea as the focus of an international health alert triggered by a hantavirus outbreak that caused three deaths, the ship reached the coast of the Canary Islands under strict evacuation operations.

For his part, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the public should not be afraid or panic, since the evacuation in Spain is being very well organized. He also said he understood the concern stemming from memories of the COVID-19 pandemic, but stressed that this case is very different because the risk to the general public remains low.

As of Friday, May 8, eight cases related to the ship had been recorded, six of which were laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus infections, all identified as Andes virus, and no new deaths had been recorded since May 2.

The disembarkation of the MV Hondius

The disembarkation of the ship began on Sunday morning, with Spanish authorities boarding to carry out health assessments of the passengers and crew before they were taken ashore in phases, depending on their nationality and the availability of flights.

As explained by Diana Rojas Alvarez, head of WHO health operations in Tenerife, passengers and crew members from Spain, France, Canada and the Netherlands were among the first groups to disembark.

During a press conference, Rojas Alvarez said that, although it was intense work, it was well organized. She also explained that operations will continue this week and that some 30 crew members will remain on board while the ship returns to the Netherlands accompanied by a medical team.

Repatriation process

WHO officials explained that none of the passengers and crew members will travel on commercial flights. Instead, charter repatriation flights are being coordinated with the authorities of the different countries under strict health controls.

In this regard, the WHO Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, Maria van Kerkhove, said that passengers and crew will be subject to active health monitoring for up to six weeks due to the virus's incubation period.

The WHO said the recommendation is to carry out active monitoring, that is, daily checks of passengers to detect fever or other symptoms. It added that the Organization recommends quarantine and monitoring, which can be carried out in family homes or in health facilities for 42 days.

“This is a precautionary approach to make sure we give this virus no opportunity to be transmitted to other people. We also recommend that, when they get off the ship and are near other people, they wear a mask as an additional layer of protection,” Kerkhove said.

What is hantavirus?

It is a rare disease linked to exposure to infected rodents that can cause serious respiratory illness. In the case of the cruise ship MV Hondius, the Andes strain associated with the outbreak is the only one known to be transmissible from person to person, although the WHO has noted on several occasions that the risk of transmission remains low.

WHO Director Tedros Adhanom stated that the risk assessment is based on the research conducted so far on the virus and on the epidemiological monitoring carried out after the outbreak detected during the voyage. He acknowledged, however, that different countries decided to activate preventive protocols in view of the international health situation.

Tedros Adhanom also highlighted the coordination deployed by the United States to receive the 17 U.S. passengers who were traveling on board the ship. He further called for trust in the technical criteria issued by health authorities regarding the episode that occurred at sea.

The WHO official also mentioned that the third and last death associated with the outbreak occurred on May 2, a fact that, for the World Health Organization, shows that the measures applied succeeded in containing the situation. “The appropriate measures have been taken to control it,” he stated.

For her part, Spain's Minister of Health, Mónica García, endorsed the message issued by the WHO and stated that the health operation is being carried out under strict safety protocols to avoid risks to the local population and travelers.

At the same time, García reported that the epidemiological tests performed by Foreign Health Service staff confirmed that the disembarked passengers remain asymptomatic.

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia