The Minister of Health, Mónica García, reported this Wednesday that the 14 Spaniards who remain on board the ship where a hantavirus outbreak has been detected will undergo tests in the Canary Islands and will later be flown to Madrid. As stated, all passengers who remain on the ship are asymptomatic.
For its part, the World Health Organization has confirmed an eighth case linked to the outbreak recorded on the MV Hondius and has identified the company as responsible. Andes straincapable of being transmitted between people. The last case corresponds to a Swiss citizen who disembarked with his wife before the situation was known and who is receiving treatment in Zurich.
The WHO has also specified that this variant, predominant in the southern cone of America, can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, with a high mortality rate of close to 40%. Likewise, he has reported the transfer to the Netherlands of three passengers suspected of being infectedamong them the doctor who was initially going to be evacuated to the Canary Islands.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) maintains a detailed assessment of the situation on board the cruise ship to decide which passengers need a urgent evacuation and which will be able to continue the journey to the Canary Islands, where the ship plans to arrive in an approximate period of three or four days. At the moment, the authorities have not confirmed the Canary port where the MV Hondius will dock. Once in Spanish territory, both the crew and passengers will undergo medical check-ups before being treated and subsequently transferred to their respective countries.