The European Commission has stepped up coordination with member states in response to a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch luxury cruise ship currently sailing toward Spain. However, officials insist the risk to the general European public remains "low".
The Health Security Committee met Wednesday, followed by separate Commission discussions with Dutch and Spanish authorities Thursday. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has deployed an expert to the ship, and the World Health Organization is also involved. Spain has activated the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism.
According to Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship left Argentina on April 1 carrying 149 people-88 passengers and 61 crew. Eight cases of hantavirus have been confirmed, including three deaths. Around 40 passengers disembarked in Santa Helena and are being traced. The ship is heading to the Canary Islands for humanitarian assistance, though local authorities oppose its reception.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne virus transmitted to humans through inhalation of dried droppings. The WHO says human-to-human transmission is unusual and stresses this outbreak is not comparable to COVID-19 or influenza.