Cruise ship gripped by hantavirus heading for Canary Islands after two more people evacuated
發佈日期: 2026-05-07 21:24
TVB News
An Atlantic cruise ship gripped by the outbreak of hantavirus is headed to Spain's Canary Islands after the evacuation of two more patients and another suspected of infection.
Once there, all non-Spanish passengers would be repatriated to their home countries if they do not present symptoms of the disease, while the 14 Spaniards on board would be quarantined at a military hospital in Madrid.
The Dutch-flagged cruise liner MV Hondius at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak got marooned off the coast of Cape Verde on Wednesday with nearly 150 passengers and crew aboard.
The disease has already caused three deaths - a Dutch couple and a German national - with one body still on the vessel.
The World Health Organization says eight individuals are suspected to have contracted the virus.
Media footage showed three evacuated passengers being removed by health workers in protective gear before they were transported by an air ambulance and a medical flight.
The evacuees include a 41-year-old Dutch national, a 65-year-old German national as well as the ship's 56-year-old British doctor who the Spanish health ministry said had been in serious condition but later improved. Two of them arrived at Amsterdam's airport Wednesday evening.
The cruise ship is expected to dock in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands by Saturday, stirring fears that hospitals and health centres would have to be locked down on the archipelago which relies heavily on tourism.
Giulia Gallo, a postdoctoral scientist in the Viral Glycoproteins Group at The Pirbright Institute, said the most important thing is not to "create panic" as the transmission rate for the virus is very low.
This as the WHO said the variant detected among passengers can spread between humans only through close, prolonged contact.
A top epidemic expert at the health agency has assured the public that the hantavirus outbreak was "not the next" COVID pandemic. Maria van Kerkhove, WHO epidemiologist said, "This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease. So, early information, accurate information is critical, knowing what your actual exposure might be. And most people will never be exposed to this."
A hantavirus found in South America, called the Andes virus, has caused over a hundred infections since last June in Argentina, where the MV Hondius ship to Antarctica began its journey.
Officials and experts there are racing to determine if their nation is the source of the deadly disease amid reports that a number of passengers have returned to their countries.
Argentina is sending genetic material from the virus and testing equipment to help Spain, Senegal, South Africa, the Netherlands and the UK detect it.
