MADRID, Spain: The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday there was currently no sign that the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius would develop into a larger health emergency.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 11 suspected cases had so far been linked to the outbreak aboard the Dutch-flagged expedition vessel, with nine cases already testing positive.
“At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,” Tedros told a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid.
“But of course the situation could change and, given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks,” he said, stressing that “our work is not over” in efforts to contain the outbreak.
The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has killed three passengers since late April.
The vessel arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday, triggering a multinational evacuation and quarantine operation coordinated by Spain, the WHO and the European Union.
Cruise ship evacuation operation
Tedros said all suspected and confirmed cases had been isolated and were under medical supervision.
“As far as we know, the passengers who disembarked have been located, including one in the remotest place that the UK managed to reach through very difficult operations,” he added.
He said the WHO had requested Spain’s assistance because the situation had “exceeded” the response capacity of Cabo Verde after the outbreak was detected in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sanchez described the repatriation effort as “a success”, saying more than 120 people of various nationalities had been evacuated on 10 special flights “with zero incidents”.
“We received a call for help,” Sanchez said amid domestic criticism over Spain’s decision to allow the ship to dock in the Canary Islands.
“This world does not need more selfishness or more fear. What it needs are countries willing to step forward in solidarity,” he added.
The WHO has recommended a strict 42-day quarantine period from May 10 until June 21 for all passengers and close contacts because of the virus’s long incubation period.
Cases across several countries
Spanish health authorities said on Tuesday that one Spanish passenger quarantining in Madrid had developed mild fever and respiratory symptoms after provisionally testing positive for hantavirus.
Officials said the patient remained in stable condition without clinical deterioration.
French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a French woman isolating in Paris had seen her condition worsen, while health authorities were tracing 22 contacts.
In the United States, health officials said a second American passenger evacuated from the ship had developed mild symptoms after returning home.
Both American passengers travelled in “biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution”, the US health department said.
Two British nationals with confirmed infections are being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands’ Radboud University Medical Centre confirmed that 12 healthcare workers had entered quarantine after failing to follow strict safety protocols while handling blood and urine samples from an infected passenger.
The hospital in Nijmegen described the measure as precautionary.
Ship heads to Rotterdam
The MV Hondius departed Tenerife on Monday and is expected to arrive in Rotterdam on May 17 after a six-day voyage, according to operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
The company said the vessel would undergo sanitation procedures upon arrival.
The last six passengers — four Australians, one Briton and one New Zealander — left the ship on Monday along with some crew members.
Oceanwide Expeditions said 27 people remained aboard as of Monday evening, including 25 crew members and two medical staff.
Those still onboard included nationals from the Philippines, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia and Poland.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the Ukrainian crew members would assist in transferring the ship to the Netherlands before entering quarantine at a medical facility.
The foreign ministry said none had shown signs of illness.
The Philippine Embassy said 17 Filipino crew members arrived in the Netherlands on Tuesday morning.
Timeline of outbreak
The MV Hondius had been carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries after departing from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1.
An elderly Dutch passenger became the first fatality on April 11 after developing symptoms onboard.
He died before being tested but is believed to have been the first infected person in the outbreak.
His wife later left the ship on the island of St Helena and travelled to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg clinic on April 26.
A German woman died aboard the vessel on May 2.
Both women were later confirmed to have contracted hantavirus.
According to the WHO, the strain involved in the outbreak is believed to be the Andes variant, which can spread between humans.
The virus is more commonly transmitted through infected rodents or their droppings.
Symptoms include fever, severe fatigue, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and breathing difficulties.
The WHO says the fatality rate can reach between 40 and 50 per cent, particularly among elderly patients and people with underlying health conditions.
