WHO Chief Heads to Tenerife as Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship Sparks Global Concern

TENERIFE: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is set to arrive in the Spanish island of Tenerife on Saturday to help coordinate emergency operations linked to a hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise vessel MV Hondius.

According to Spanish ministry sources, Tedros will join Spain’s health and interior ministers at a special command post established to oversee health surveillance, evacuation coordination and emergency response measures.

The outbreak has already claimed the lives of three passengers — a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman — while several others have fallen ill after contracting the rare and potentially deadly virus.

Health authorities confirmed that the infections involve the Andes virus strain, the only known hantavirus variant capable of human-to-human transmission, heightening international concern over the situation.

The Dutch-flagged cruise ship, carrying approximately 150 passengers and crew members, is expected to reach Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday.

Authorities plan to repatriate passengers through special flights to their respective countries after medical screening and quarantine procedures.

Despite growing concern, WHO officials stressed that the risk to the wider public remains low.

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the virus is dangerous mainly for infected individuals but does not spread easily between people.

“The virus is not that contagious that it easily jumps from person to person,” Lindmeier told reporters.

The WHO confirmed six positive cases out of eight suspected infections and said no additional suspected cases currently remain aboard the ship.

Meanwhile, a flight attendant working for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines who had contact with one infected passenger later tested negative for hantavirus, providing some relief to health authorities.

The infected passenger, the wife of the first victim, had briefly boarded a flight from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25 before being removed from the aircraft due to illness. She later died in a Johannesburg hospital.

Spanish officials also revealed that a woman in eastern Spain who had been seated two rows behind the infected passenger on the flight is currently in hospital isolation after developing symptoms and undergoing testing.

Authorities further said a South African passenger linked to the same flight remains asymptomatic after returning home from Barcelona.

The outbreak began during the MV Hondius expedition cruise, which departed from Ushuaia on April 1 for a transatlantic voyage toward Cape Verde.

Three suspected cases were evacuated from Cape Verde to the Netherlands earlier, where two crew members later tested positive while another individual tested negative but remains under medical observation.

Health officials in Argentina believe it is highly unlikely that the virus originated in Ushuaia based on the incubation period and available evidence.

Travel blogger and YouTuber Kasem Ibn Hattuta, who is currently aboard the ship, said passengers were relieved after doctors joined the vessel and evacuation plans became clearer.

He said passengers were following safety measures, including wearing masks indoors and maintaining social distancing, while remaining calm despite the crisis.

The United States announced it is arranging a special evacuation flight for American passengers, who will reportedly be transferred to a quarantine facility in Nebraska.

Spanish authorities said the ship will remain offshore near Tenerife and will not be permitted to dock directly. Passengers will instead be transported ashore using smaller vessels before being taken to the airport by bus.

Officials warned that evacuations must be completed quickly due to worsening weather conditions expected early next week.

The outbreak has also raised concern in remote South Atlantic territories after British health authorities reported a suspected case on Tristan da Cunha, one of the world’s most isolated inhabited islands.