Spain reports suspected hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak

Madrid: Spanish Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla said on Friday that the health authorities had taken relevant measures after detecting a suspected case of hantavirus in the eastern city of Alicante.

The person travelled several weeks ago on the same flight as one of the infected individuals, Padilla said.

He added that the person had developed symptoms compatible with hantavirus infection, although the authorities are still assessing whether the case can be confirmed, Xinhua news agency reported.

In addition, Padilla confirmed that all 14 Spanish passengers aboard the MV Hondius had agreed to undergo voluntary quarantine measures in order to minimise the risk of further transmission.

The Dutch-operated expedition cruise ship, currently heading toward Spain’s Canary Islands, has so far been linked to three deaths.

Padilla said a team from the Spanish Health Ministry would travel to Tenerife on Saturday ahead of the ship’s expected arrival on Sunday.

Passengers are expected to disembark by small boats before being transferred under strict isolation measures. Spanish citizens aboard the vessel will be transported to Madrid for quarantine observation.

Two British nationals have been confirmed to have contracted hantavirus, with a third suspected of infection, on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday.

None of the British citizens on board the cruise ship MV Hondius is currently reporting symptoms, but they are being closely monitored, said the agency, adding that all British passengers and crew onboard will be asked to isolate for 45 days upon returning to Britain.

British government staff will be on site to support British nationals disembarking when the ship docks in Spain’s Tenerife on Sunday.

The agency is aware that seven British nationals disembarked the ship at St Helena, a South Atlantic island, on April 24. Two of them have returned to Britain and are isolating at home and have not reported symptoms of infection.

Four of them remain in St Helena, and the seventh has been traced outside Britain.

IANS