By Emmanuel Bobby
Passengers aboard the cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak began evacuating Sunday after the vessel arrived off the coast of the Spanish island of Tenerife, launching a tightly controlled international operation to return travelers to their home countries while preventing further spread of the virus.
The evacuation process started shortly after the ship anchored offshore near Tenerife’s Granadilla port. Small groups of passengers, dressed in face masks and full-body protective suits, were transported ashore by boat under strict health and safety protocols. Authorities kept the evacuees separated from the public as medical personnel monitored the operation closely.
Spanish officials established a temporary medical facility at the port to screen arriving passengers before transferring them onto buses waiting nearby. The buses then transported travelers directly to the airport, where specially arranged international flights were prepared to return them home.
The first aircraft carrying 14 Spanish passengers departed Tenerife on Sunday bound for Madrid, marking the beginning of what health authorities expect to be a complex two-day evacuation effort involving passengers and crew from multiple countries.
The outbreak aboard the Dutch-operated expedition ship has alarmed international health agencies after six confirmed cases of hantavirus and two suspected infections were linked to the vessel, according to the World Health Organization. Three people have died during the outbreak, including two passengers who died while still aboard the ship.
The vessel remains anchored near the Canary Islands after Spanish national authorities overruled objections from some local leaders who feared the evacuation could threaten Tenerife’s tourism-driven economy or expose residents to infection risks.
Despite those concerns, WHO officials stressed repeatedly that the danger to the public remains low.
“The risk to the public is low,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after the first evacuation flight departed. “So they shouldn’t be scared and they shouldn’t panic.”
Tedros added that scientific evidence and ongoing assessments indicate there is no immediate widespread public health threat linked to the operation.
Even so, passengers returning to their home countries are expected to face strict quarantine and monitoring requirements because of the long incubation period associated with hantavirus infections.
Diana Rojas, head of high-impact diseases at the WHO, warned Sunday that authorities may not know whether passengers will develop symptoms for several weeks.
“We cannot be sure that they will not develop symptoms until 42 days have passed,” Rojas said.
Spain’s Health Minister, Monica García, told reporters in Tenerife that all passengers aboard the ship remained asymptomatic during the evacuation process, despite the confirmed cases linked to the outbreak.
According to García, Dutch passengers were scheduled to leave the ship after the Spanish evacuees, alongside German, Belgian, and Greek travelers as well as several crew members. Additional evacuation flights are planned for citizens of Turkey, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
A final flight expected Monday will transport six remaining passengers from Australia, New Zealand, and several Asian countries.
Health experts overseeing the operation praised the efficiency and organization of the evacuation process.
Dr. Boris Pavlin, a WHO medical epidemiologist, described the operation as “extremely efficient,” noting that passengers were being moved in carefully controlled groups to minimize unnecessary contact.
Passengers have been leaving the ship “in small numbers, placed on buses and spaced apart,” Pavlin explained, adding that officials are taking every precaution despite the absence of symptoms among most travelers.
He also emphasized that the current outbreak differs significantly from the rapid human-to-human transmission patterns seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is not Covid,” Pavlin said. “In Covid, we’ve all been traumatized by how people you didn’t even think were sick were already spreading it, but we have no reason to believe that that’s happening here.”
The 17 American passengers still aboard the ship, the Hondius, are expected to be transported to the United States and placed under observation at the National Quarantine Unit located on the campus of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The specialized facility is designed to manage highly infectious diseases and has previously handled patients exposed to dangerous pathogens.
“We are prepared for situations exactly like this,” said Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, in a statement released Friday.
Meanwhile, the Dutch-owned cruise vessel itself will continue its five-day journey to Rotterdam along with a reduced crew and the passengers’ luggage, according to cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
Spanish officials confirmed that the body of one passenger who died during the voyage will remain aboard until the ship reaches the Netherlands, where the vessel is expected to undergo a full disinfection and decontamination process.
Health authorities continue to stress that the broader threat to the international public remains limited. Hantavirus infections are generally transmitted through contact with rodents, especially exposure to contaminated urine, saliva, or droppings.
The WHO said the origin of the first known infection aboard the ship may be linked to rodent exposure during bird-watching excursions earlier in the voyage.
Of the various hantavirus strains, only the Andes strain — the type connected to the Hondius outbreak — is known to spread between humans. Even then, transmission usually requires prolonged close contact between infected individuals.
The outbreak was first formally reported to the WHO on May 2, roughly one month after the ship departed from Ushuaia. At the time, officials reported a cluster of passengers suffering from severe respiratory illness aboard the vessel.
The ship initially carried 147 passengers and crew members, though 34 individuals had already disembarked earlier in the voyage before the outbreak was identified.
The first known death occurred April 11, when a Dutch passenger died aboard the ship. Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions later said the cause of death was unknown at the time and that there was no immediate evidence suggesting a contagious disease outbreak.
The man’s wife later died at a clinic in South Africa on April 26, according to the WHO.
A third fatality, a German woman, died aboard the ship on May 2.
Two days later, hantavirus was officially confirmed in another passenger who had been medically evacuated to a South African hospital.
According to the WHO, hantavirus infections can carry a fatality rate of between 40% and 50%, particularly among elderly patients. Officials noted that the average age of passengers aboard the Hondius is approximately 65 years old, increasing concerns about the potential severity of the outbreak.