He Dutch cruise ship MV Hondiusscene of a hantavirus outbreak that has already left three dead, will finally not dock at the port of Tenerife. The ship will remain anchored in front of the island and the passengers will be transferred by boat to land before being transferred to the airport for repatriation or medical transfer.
The journey began last April 1when the ship set sail from Ushuaia (Argentina) towards the Canary Islands with 149 people on board of 23 different nationalities, including 14 Spaniards. The route included stops in Antarctica, Malvinas, South Georgia and several islands in the South Atlantic.
The first death occurred on April 11, a Dutch passenger who had been suffering from symptoms for several days died in his cabin. His body was landed on April 24 on the island of Saint Helena along with his wife, who was later transferred to Johannesburg and died two days later also from hantavirus.
That same April 24, about thirty passengers also disembarked in Santa Elena, people who are now being tracked to check if there was more infections related to the outbreak.
On April 27, a British citizen fell ill during the voyage and was evacuated to South Africa, where he tested positive for hantavirus. Days later, on May 2, a German passenger died and the World Health Organization received official notification of the outbreak.
Since then, cases linked to the MV Hondius have continued to increase. The WHO later confirmed an eighth infection related to the cruise and verified that the three deaths were linked to the Andes strain, the only hantavirus variant with documented transmission between people.
After being anchored in front of Cape Verde on May 3the Government of the African country prevented the ship from docking for health security reasons. Finally, the cruise ship headed to the Canary Islands following the WHO’s request to Spain to care for those affected.
The arrival of the ship to Tenerife has also caused political tensions between the central government and the Canarian Executive. The Minister of Health, Mónica García, confirmed that the foreign passengers will be repatriated from the Canary Islands, while the 14 Spaniards will be transferred to the Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid to be quarantined.
For her part, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, clarified that the isolation will be voluntary and that passengers will stay in individual rooms, not in the special infectious units used in previous crises such as Ebola.
In parallel, three passengers suspected of contagion, including the ship’s doctor, were evacuated by plane to the Netherlands. Two of them have serious symptoms.
This Wednesday, a possible new case was also revealed: a Dutch flight attendant was hospitalized in Amsterdam after having been in contact with one of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the PP has requested the urgent appearance of the Minister of Health in Congress to report on the management of the crisis. The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, also confirmed that the cruise will not directly touch the Tenerife coast and that the disembarkation will be carried out using auxiliary vessels. (EFE)