2 Indians Safe as Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Reaches Spain
The Indian Embassy in Madrid confirmed that the two Indian nationals working as crew members on the vessel are safe, healthy, and currently asymptomatic.
The Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has docked at the Port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Spain, initiating a massive global evacuation effort following an international hantavirus outbreak on board.
As the evacuation begins with military and government planes flying passengers to over 20 countries, the Indian Embassy in Madrid has confirmed that two Indian crew members on the vessel are safe, healthy, and asymptomatic.
The two Indians remain under observation and are expected to undergo medical screening and a mandatory quarantine in the Netherlands before being eventually repatriated to India.
The outbreak aboard the ship, which carried around 140 to 150 people, has resulted in at least three deaths, and five passengers who left earlier have also been infected
The infections have been linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, which, while typically contracted from inhaling contaminated rodent droppings, has the rare ability to spread between humans.
Despite the fatalities, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that the public risk is low and explicitly stated that "this is not another COVID".
Strict quarantine-style measures are being enforced at the port, with disembarking passengers and port personnel wearing full hazardous materials suits, respirators, and face masks, and some individuals being sprayed down with disinfectant on the tarmac.
Spanish passengers were the first to be evacuated to a military hospital in Madrid, while French passengers were flown to Paris, where they were placed in strict isolation after one passenger developed symptoms during the flight.
The WHO has left specific active monitoring and quarantine policies up to individual nations, leading to various international responses.
Americans will be quarantined in a Nebraska medical center, UK citizens will be hospitalized for observation, and France has mandated a 45-day home quarantine following a 72-hour hospital stay.
Other nations, such as Australia and Norway, have dispatched specialized aircraft and personnel to safely transport their citizens home.
The MV Hondius itself is undergoing deep disinfection in Tenerife and will subsequently sail a five-day journey to Rotterdam, Netherlands, carrying some crew members and the body of a deceased passenger.
Meanwhile, the global fallout of the outbreak continues as British Army medics recently parachuted into the remote South Atlantic territory of Tristan da Cunha to assist a resident and former Hondius passenger suspected of having the virus.
Additionally, a suspected case in Alicante, Spain, involving a woman who shared a flight with a deceased passenger, has tested negative.
