The evacuation of passengers from the MV Hondius, the Dutch cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak, is expected to be completed by Monday, with people being transported to their home countries from Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands.
The Andes strain of hantavirus, the only known variant capable of spreading between humans, was identified aboard the vessel in April 2026. Three passengers have died since the outbreak began.
The disembarkation process was set to pause at sunset before resuming Monday morning, according to Diana Rojas Alvarez, health operations lead at the World Health Organization. Passengers were required to wear personal protective equipment and were transported from the ship by smaller boats before being bused to Tenerife Sur Airport.
The evacuation on Sunday covered 94 passengers representing 19 nationalities. At least two additional passengers tested positive for the virus during that process.
All 17 American citizens aboard the ship were placed on evacuation flights back to the U.S. Two were transported in biocontainment units as a precaution, one due to mild symptoms, and another after testing mildly positive for the Andes virus on a PCR test. The Americans were headed to the Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
A French passenger also tested positive and is receiving care at a specialist hospital,. According to France’s Health Minister, her condition is deteriorating. Meanwhile, 20 British nationals, along with one German and one Japanese national, were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital in northwest England for monitoring. Passengers in the UK are expected to isolate for up to 45 days.
The sole Greek national on board the vessel was also repatriated early Monday morning and is reported to be in good condition as he was placed in quarantine at a hospital in Athens.
Australia dispatched a flight expected to arrive Monday to repatriate its citizens, along with passengers from New Zealand and several Asian countries — a trip Spanish Health Minister Mónica García described as the final evacuation flight out of Tenerife.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sought to reassure the public on Saturday, saying it had substantial experience with the Andes strain and that the risk of a widespread outbreak in the United States remained extremely low. Officials emphasized that person-to-person transmission of hantavirus is rare.
