Hantavirus Outbreak: WHO Chief Joins Tenerife Evacuation

The World Health Organization's chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is traveling to Tenerife on Saturday to coordinate the evacuation of passengers affected by a hantavirus outbreak. He will join Spanish health and interior ministers at a command post to ensure seamless coordination of health controls and response protocols. Three passengers from the MV Hondius, identified as a Dutch couple and a German woman, have died from the virus. The Andes virus strain, which can transmit between people, has been confirmed among those who tested positive, raising international concern. The Dutch-flagged vessel, carrying around 150 people, is anticipated to reach Tenerife on Sunday. Following its arrival, special flights will transport passengers to their respective home countries. Earlier on Friday, the WHO characterized the hantavirus outbreak as posing a minimal risk to the general public, emphasizing its limited human-to-human contagiousness. As of Friday, six confirmed cases out of eight suspected cases were reported on the ship, with no remaining suspected cases onboard. A KLM flight attendant who had contact with an infected passenger tested negative for hantavirus. The ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 and is expected to complete its journey despite some protests from dockers in Tenerife. Repatriation plans, including a U.S. evacuation flight to a quarantine facility in Nebraska, are underway, with passengers to be transferred to shore via a smaller vessel and then by bus to the airport for evacuation between Sunday and Monday due to anticipated adverse weather.