Passengers have begun disembarking from a cruise ship docked off Tenerife after a hantavirus outbreak claimed three lives. The vessel arrived in the Canary Islands following weeks at sea, triggering an international public health response.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, leading a team in Tenerife, stressed the risk to the wider public remains low. “This is not another COVID,” he told journalists Sunday. “The risk to the public is low.”
Eight cases have been linked to the ship, six confirmed as Andes virus (ANDV), a rare strain capable of human-to-human transmission. No new deaths have been recorded since May 2.
Spanish health authorities boarded the ship early Sunday to assess passengers and crew before transferring them ashore in stages based on nationality. Officials from Spain, France, Canada, and the Netherlands were among the first to leave. Around 46 passengers and crew were expected to disembark Sunday, with operations continuing into Monday. About 30 crew members will remain on board as the vessel returns to the Netherlands with a medical team.
No passengers will travel on commercial flights. Chartered repatriation flights are being coordinated. WHO recommends daily health monitoring for up to six weeks due to the virus's incubation period. Passengers are advised to wear respirators around others.
Hantavirus is rare, typically linked to rodents. The Andes strain is the only one with documented human-to-human transmission, though WHO says risk remains low.