Nations deploy private jets to rescue tourists from hantavirus 'outbreak zone'

The MV Hondius cruise ship, carrying the hantavirus pathogen, has docked at Granadilla port on Tenerife island, Spain, initiating a multinational medical evacuation operation.

Upon the vessel's safe anchorage a distance from shore, Spanish Port Health Agency specialists, clad in protective gear, boarded to conduct epidemiological investigations. They performed health checks on everyone aboard and promptly categorized individuals who had not yet shown symptoms.

Authorities utilized Zodiac rubber boats to transport groups of up to 10 people of the same nationality ashore. Medical personnel were on standby at the port to receive the tourists, escorting them onto buses from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) for a direct 10-minute journey to the airport.

Buses from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) transporting passengers from the MV Hondius at Granadilla port, Tenerife, on 10/5. Photo: El Pais

Oceanwide Expeditions, the tour operator, proactively coordinated the disembarkation order to align with each nation's flight schedules. The company also instructed staff to keep luggage onboard for later retrieval. Virginia Barcones, head of Spain's emergency services, requested that countries dispatch specialized medical aircraft to collect symptomatic cases, aiming to prevent any community transmission. Nations including the United States, Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are sending private jets to collect their citizens.

Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia announced that authorities prioritized the evacuation of 14 Spanish citizens and logistics teams. This group, wearing FFP2 masks, traveled directly to a military hospital. Doctors placed them in isolation rooms, prohibited visitors, and took PCR test samples on the first day, repeating the procedure on the seventh day.

Similarly, the United States dispatched an aircraft to transport 17 citizens to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will conduct an initial assessment, then require this group to self-monitor at home for 42 days under daily supervision by health experts.

The ship's arrival sparked protests in the Canary Islands. Regional leader Fernando Clavijo refused to accept the cruise ship earlier this week, while Tenerife port workers demonstrated due to a lack of information regarding the risk of disease. After all passengers disembarked, 17 Filipino crew members continued to navigate the ship to the Netherlands. Authorities will thoroughly disinfect the vessel at this final destination.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recorded the first hantavirus infection on the Hondius cruise ship on 2/5. This virus has a fatality rate of 40-50%, posing a significant risk to the elderly, especially given the average passenger age of 65. Although the US CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center at level 3 and mobilized expert teams, public health agencies still assess the risk of community transmission as low.