WHO: 9 cases with cruise-linked hantavirus
發佈日期: 2026-05-12 20:15
TVB News
The World Health Organization reported a total of nine cases linked to hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius.
Three fatalities included a Dutch couple and a German passenger.
They include seven confirmed infections of the Andes virus and two suspected diagnoses.
After evacuating the last batch of passengers, the vessel departed the Spanish island of Tenerife and set sail for Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius completed its evacuation of passengers from Tenerife on Monday.
The final group of 28 evacuees, including passengers and crew members, disembarked after the ship docked at the Port of Granadilla and were subsequently transferred to Tenerife South Airport for a flight to the Netherlands, while another 26 crew members on board the vessel continued their voyage to Rotterdam.
The cruise will undergo comprehensive disinfection.
Spain says among the 14 Spanish nationals currently under isolation at a Madrid hospital, one individual has returned a preliminary positive PCR test result for hantavirus.
Another latest confirmed case is a French female passenger who disembarked the vessel the previous day and returned to France -- with worsening conditions.
One of the 18 repatriated Americans is suspected of infection after initial testing, while another US citizen showed light symptoms.
Both are being isolated.
Overseeing the evacuation efforts in Spain, the World Health Organisation's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says this is not another COVID outbreak but recommends individuals who have disembarked from the vessel undergo quarantine to minimise transmission risks.
WHO Director-General TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: "The passengers, you are now in good hands. We were very worried if you stayed longer in the ship, the situation could have been difficult. And the guidance is clear. It's 42 days of isolation from May 10th. May 10th was yesterday. And it could be (in a) facility, or it could be home."
Andes virus is a rodent-borne hantavirus endemic to South America and the only known hantavirus capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
The European Union says the outbreak poses little risks to the region after assessment.
