Spanish passenger evacuated from hantavirus-hit cruise ship tests positive
Following confirmation of the infection, the Spanish patient was transferred to an isolation unit at Gómez Ulla Hospital, the Health Ministry said on X.
A Spanish national evacuated from a cruise ship earlier this month and now quarantined at a military hospital in Madrid has tested positive for hantavirus, Spain’s Health Ministry said, sharpening concern around an outbreak that began at sea.
The case is the second positive result among 14 Spanish nationals flown to the Spanish island of Tenerife from the luxury liner MV Hondius.
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The ship was carrying about 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on 2 May.
Following confirmation of the infection, the Spanish patient was transferred to an isolation unit at Gómez Ulla Hospital, the Health Ministry said on X.
Read more:What is hantavirus and how deadly is it?WHO chief says ‘work not over’ after hantavirus evacuation
MV Hondius, which sails under the Dutch flag, departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 April, calling at remote islands in the South Atlantic before continuing north to Cape Verde and then Tenerife.
The WHO said on Saturday that it had received reports of 12 suspected and confirmed cases, including three deaths, adding that no deaths have been reported since 2 May.
Hantavirus, which is spread by rodents, is rare and has no vaccine or specific treatment.
