Cruise ship Hondius evacuated from Tenerife after hantavirus outbreak, three dead

The MV Hondius, a cruise liner that left Ushuaia in early April, was evacuated from the port of Granadilla in Tenerife after a hantavirus outbreak was identified on board. All 94 passengers were disembarked in Tenerife and flown home, while a final group of 28 passengers and crew left the vessel later. Three passengers died during the voyage; a French woman is in intensive care in Paris and a U.S. man developed symptoms after repatriation. The virus was identified as the Andes strain, which health authorities say spreads only through prolonged close contact and poses a very low risk to the general public.

After evacuation, the ship sailed to Rotterdam, where Dutch bio‑risk specialists will carry out a full decontamination. The incident has prompted coordination among Spanish, Dutch, French and U.S. health agencies, and the WHO warned of possible additional cases due to the virus’s long incubation period.