2026/5/7 09:56 (updated at 5/7 10:00) Please agree to our privacy policy to enable the news listening function. A case of hantavirus was detected on the cruise ship Hondias. (Reuters) (Central News Agency, Madrid, comprehensive foreign news report on the 6th) An outbreak of hantavirus broke out on the cruise ship Hondias. Three patients on board have left the ship for treatment today. The cruise ship is expected to arrive at the Spanish island of Tenerife in three days. The WHO is cooperating with various countries to conduct epidemic investigations, and a total of 77 contacts have been identified and will continue to be tracked. According to reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse, a hantavirus outbreak recently broke out on the MV Hondius of the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, killing three people and attracting global attention. The Hondias set sail from Argentina a few weeks ago and arrived at its destination, Cape Verde, on the 3rd. However, the authorities refused to dock due to epidemic prevention. After being stranded at sea for several days, the three patients on the ship were sent home for treatment on a special medical flight today with the assistance of medical staff wearing protective suits. The cruise ship will also set sail for Europe. Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said today that the Hondias is expected to arrive at Tenerife in the Canary Islands within three days and that none of the remaining people on board have shown any symptoms. Garcia said that after the cruise ship arrives at Tenilefe Island, healthy foreign passengers will be sent home, while Spanish passengers will be sent to the military hospital in the capital Madrid for isolation. The length of the isolation will depend on the time of possible exposure to the virus. The incubation period of hantavirus is as long as 45 days. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that if the Swiss citizens who have returned to Zurich, Switzerland for treatment are included, a total of 8 people are suspected of being infected, and 3 of them have been confirmed. According to test results released by the South African authorities, it was confirmed that the patient was infected with the “Andes strain” of the hantavirus, which can be transmitted from person to person in extremely close contact. The Argentine Ministry of Health stated that it will conduct rodent trapping and analysis in Ushuaia, a city in southern Argentina where the cruise ship set sail, and conduct an epidemic investigation on the footprints of Dutch passengers who died from the epidemic. The RNA sequence and diagnosis and treatment guidelines of the Andes virus will also be provided to laboratories in Spain, Senegal, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. There are currently no relevant cases in Argentina. The Dutch government said in a letter to Congress that about 40 passengers on the cruise ship disembarked in St. Helena, including Swiss citizens who later developed symptoms. WHO South Africa representative Shenaaz El-Halabi told Reuters that South Africa has listed 65 close contacts of the epidemic, and other countries have listed a total of 12 contacts and will conduct follow-up tracking. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic management at the WHO, told Reuters: “The so-called close contact (human-to-human transmission) refers to very close physical contact, such as sharing a bed, sharing a cabin, or providing medical care, which is completely different from COVID-19 or influenza.” Van Kerkhove said that the WHO is working with countries to conduct epidemic tracking for passengers who disembarked from the cruise ship on St. Helena Island before arriving at Cape Verde. (Compiled by: Zhang Mingxuan) 1150507 Support the Central News Agency’s choice to stand with the facts. Every donation you make is a small amount of support to protect press freedom. Download the Central News Agency’s “First-hand News” APP to get the latest news in real time. The text, pictures and audio and video of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
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