Spain on Sunday started evacuating passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius, which anchored earlier on the day off the Port of Granadilla on the island of Tenerife.
MV Hondius departed from Argentina on April 1, carrying more than 140 passengers and crew from 23 countries, and has reported eight infections, including three deaths. In addition, six cases have been laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus infection, a rodent-borne hantavirus endemic in South America and the only known strain capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
In accordance with the evacuation plan, passengers and crew were only allowed to disembark in batches after being confirmed free of any suspected symptoms of hantavirus.
Medical staff at the port guided the evacuees onto fully enclosed shuttle buses, which will take them to the airports to board charter flights back to their home countries.
After non-essential crew and passengers are evacuated, the Hondius cruise ship will sail to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for thorough disinfection and sterilization.
Earlier on the day, experts from Spain's health department boarded the ship and started an epidemiological investigation and health assessment of all on-board passengers and crew.
Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said on Sunday at the evacuation site that all evacuees remaining on the cruise ship are in good health and have shown no symptoms of hantavirus infection.
She also confirmed that the entire repatriation is expected to fully complete on Monday local time.
Hantavirus-hit cruise ship evacuation starts on Spanish island
