A Dutch-flagged cruise ship stricken by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has reached Spain's Canary Islands. The MV Hondius docked early Sunday at the port of Granadilla on Tenerife, where health officials will begin evacuating nearly 150 people from over 15 countries, including 17 Americans.
The World Health Organization reports no one currently aboard is symptomatic. There are nine confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus linked to the outbreak, including three fatalities: a Dutch couple and a German woman.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship's operator, says all passengers and a portion of the crew will begin evacuating Sunday using small launch boats. The evacuation is coordinated by the WHO, with Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus on site.
American passengers will be flown to the U.S. on a plane sent by the CDC and HHS, landing at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. They will quarantine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The CDC has dispatched a team for exposure risk assessment.
The hantavirus strain involved, Andes virus, is found in Latin America and is the only strain known to transmit human-to-human. The WHO and acting CDC director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya assess the public risk as low. The source of the outbreak is under investigation, but the deceased Dutch couple had traveled through South America on a bird-watching trip.