Hantavirus-ridden MV Hondius cruise ship anchors in Canary Islands after deadly outbreak

The hantavirus-stricken HV Hondius anchored in Spain Sunday morning after the outbreak on the ship left three travelers dead and sparked global concern over a possible wider spread of the rodent-borne illness.The plagued Dutch cruise ship reached Tenerife – the Canary Islands’ largest island – around 6:30 a.m local time as more than 140 passengers and crew started to disembark from the vessel.“All the passengers remain asymptomatic,” Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia said during a Sunday morning news conference.

“The entire operation is proceeding normally.”Passengers, who will be required to leave their belongings on the ship, will undergo health screenings to check for symptoms before disembarking in small groups of five to 10.Spanish passengers – 13 vacationers and one crew member – were the first to leave the cruise ship in a small boat around 9:30 a.m.They will be flown to a Madrid military hospital, where they will be quarantined in single rooms under strict supervision, the Spanish Health Ministry said.Spanish health authorities said the operation was specifically designed to prevent any contact between passengers and the local population.Fears among locals have surged in recent days ahead of the doomed ship’s arrival, but World Health Organization officials said the public risk is low and they’re closely monitoring the situation.Seventeen American travelers will fly back to the US on a repatriation flight and be taken to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska for assessment and quarantine, the US State Department said.The UK will also send a plane to evacuate its citizens, who will all be required to isolate for 45 days upon return.The weeks-long Atlantic cruise – which departed from Argentina on March 20 – spiraled into a nightmare when an elderly Dutch couple carried the rare Andes strain of the virus after contracting it in Argentina last month.The husband died aboard the expedition vessel; his wife came down with sympt...