Spain said Monday it had implemented “all measures” to prevent the spread of hantavirus from passengers evacuated from a cruise ship linked to a deadly outbreak, after French and U.S. nationals tested positive for the virus.
A complex repatriation operation from the Canary Islands on Sunday flew out 94 passengers and crew of 19 different nationalities from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, which is at the center of an international alert after three passengers died.
Medical teams escorted travelers to an airport on Tenerife under close supervision and following sanitary checks on the ship.
French and U.S. authorities have reported positive tests for hantavirus from one each of their evacuees.
"From the start, all the measures adopted have aimed at cutting the possible chains of transmission... all measures for prevention and control of transmission have been applied," the Spanish health ministry said in a statement.
It said the French patient "started to feel unwell during the flight and not while she was on the ship".
The U.S. citizen's tests in Cape Verde, where the MV Hondius stopped before reaching the Canary Islands, gave a result considered by the Americans as a "weak positive", "although for us it was not conclusive", and another that was negative, the ministry said.
"The person in question did not show symptoms when they were in Cape Verde. However, the U.S. authorities have decided to treat the case as positive. For that reason, they requested a separate evacuation, which was carried out in a separate boat."
Of the 54 people left on the ship, "28 will disembark this afternoon in the Canary Islands and 26 will remain on board en route to the Netherlands," Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia announced on social media, updating an earlier figure of 22 evacuees.
The final evacuees will all leave on a single flight to the Netherlands, she had said earlier, changing an original schedule that had involved a second plane to Australia.
After refueling and receiving fresh supplies, the ship is scheduled to depart at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) with a skeleton crew.
No vaccines or specific treatments exist for hantavirus, a known but rare illness that usually spreads among rodents.
Health officials have insisted that the risk to global public health is low and dismissed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic.
