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Spain is preparing to receive the MV Hondius in Tenerife on Saturday after the cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak was cleared to dock in the Canary Islands. Health Minister Mónica García has confirmed that the 14 Spaniards on board will be transferred to the Gómez Ulla Military Hospital complex in Madrid, where they will remain in quarantine for an as yet undetermined period.

 

The ship, which travelled from Argentina and has been anchored off Cape Verde after it was refused permission to disembark there, is now expected at the port of Granadilla de Abona in the south of Tenerife. The World Health Organization said Spain is the nearest suitable port to manage the situation, and the Government has activated the response plan for what it describes as a controlled health operation.

 

Alongside the Spaniards, British nationals are also directly caught up in the case. The UK Health Security Agency has said two British people who left the vessel earlier are self-isolating at home in the UK after possible exposure, even though they had no symptoms when they travelled back. It also confirmed that a 56-year-old British man evacuated from the ship is in a stable condition in hospital after being transferred for treatment.

 

The outbreak has already led to three deaths on board the MV Hondius, which has around 150 people on board, including more than a dozen Spaniards. Health authorities say at least six people have been affected by respiratory illness, and they are still working through the medical and quarantine arrangements.

 

The Spanish Government says all passengers will ultimately be repatriated, with those who are asymptomatic expected to stay in the hospital but in separate rooms from anyone who develops symptoms. Officials say the quarantine period will depend on the contact tracing work and on establishing the beginning of exposure, known as day zero.

 

A Foreign Office spokesperson said the outbreak is “very serious and deeply stressful” for those affected and their families, while also stressing that the risk to the UK population is very low. The spokesperson added that the UK response is being led by the UK Health Security Agency, working with the WHO, and that consular staff are in direct contact with British nationals on board.

 

The Foreign Office says it is also working with Dutch and Spanish counterparts, as well as other countries, to support medical evacuations and help British nationals return home safely as quickly as possible.

 

Health experts, in general, have repeatedly stressed that the risk to the general public is low. Canary Islands epidemiologist Amós García Rojas said human-to-human transmission is “very unlikely” and added: “It will not be a risk to Spain at all.”

 

Fernando Simón, head of Spain’s health emergencies centre, has also tried to calm concern. He said the incident “does not pose a high risk” and repeated the same message: “It will not be a risk to Spain at all.”

 

The ship left Argentina a month ago and later became the focus of an international health response after confirmed hantavirus cases emerged. Current evidence suggests the infection was probably acquired on board, although health authorities have not ruled out all possibilities.

 

Officials say the strain identified is the Andes variant, the only form of hantavirus known to spread between people, and only in very close and prolonged contact. Even so, experts say the overall public health risk remains low and that the planned docking in Tenerife can be handled safely if the protocols are followed.

 

Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch operator of the vessel, says it is still working with authorities in Spain, Cape Verde, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the WHO on passenger screening, quarantine arrangements and the final steps before arrival.