Tenerife: The Dutch expedition cruise ship MV Hondius began its return journey to the Netherlands after the final group of passengers was evacuated in Tenerife following a rare hantavirus outbreak that triggered an international health response.
Authorities confirmed that all remaining passengers disembarked safely on Monday from the vessel, which had been anchored off the coast of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. The ship is now sailing back to the Netherlands with only essential crew members and medical personnel onboard as investigations into the outbreak continue.
The incident has drawn worldwide attention after several passengers on the luxury expedition cruise developed symptoms linked to the rare Andes strain of hantavirus during the voyage. Health officials have confirmed at least seven cases connected to the ship, while additional suspected infections remain under investigation.
Three deaths linked to the outbreak have also been reported so far, including two Dutch passengers and one German national.
The outbreak has raised concern among global health authorities because the Andes strain is one of the few hantaviruses known to have limited person to person transmission. Most hantavirus infections are normally spread through exposure to infected rodents or their droppings.
Despite growing public concern, the World Health Organization and national health agencies have stressed that the risk to the wider public remains low. Officials say the virus does not spread easily during normal social interaction and there is currently no evidence of widespread community transmission.
Passengers from the ship were evacuated under strict medical supervision and transported to different countries aboard special flights. Governments in Europe and North America coordinated quarantine measures, testing, and medical observation procedures for returning travelers.
The United States confirmed that 18 passengers were flown back under medical supervision. One infected passenger was transferred to a specialized biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, while others are being monitored in medical facilities in Nebraska and Atlanta.
French authorities also confirmed that one evacuated passenger tested positive after returning home and remains in serious condition. Several countries have launched contact tracing efforts to monitor people who may have come into close contact with infected passengers during earlier parts of the journey.
New updates from the Netherlands showed that two planes carrying evacuated passengers landed safely on Tuesday. Dutch health officials said 12 hospital workers who handled patient samples were placed in preventive quarantine as a precautionary measure. Authorities stressed that the infection risk for those workers remains very low.
The MV Hondius had originally departed from southern Argentina in April for a polar expedition cruise through remote regions of the South Atlantic. Investigators are still trying to determine how the virus spread onboard the ship.
Scientists say hantavirus infections usually begin with fever, headaches, muscle pain, and fatigue before developing into severe respiratory complications in some cases. The World Health Organization has advised all exposed passengers and crew members to undergo a 42 day monitoring period because symptoms may appear weeks after exposure.
Health agencies across several countries continue to monitor the situation closely. Officials say the rapid international response and early isolation measures have helped limit the spread of the virus beyond the ship.
Although the outbreak has reminded many people of the early days of the COVID 19 pandemic, health experts say the current situation is very different. They emphasize that the hantavirus involved spreads far less easily and remains limited to close contacts connected directly to the cruise ship outbreak.