Spain on Monday defended its handling of a hantavirus scare involving passengers evacuated from a cruise ship, insisting that all necessary preventive measures had been implemented to stop any possible spread of the virus.
The response followed reports that French and US nationals evacuated from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius later tested positive for hantavirus after leaving the vessel.
The ship became the centre of international concern after three passengers reportedly died during the voyage.
Spanish authorities on Sunday carried out a complex evacuation and repatriation operation from the Canary Islands involving 94 passengers and crew members from 19 different nationalities.
Medical teams reportedly escorted travellers to an airport in Tenerife under close monitoring and after extensive sanitary checks.
Despite the operation, authorities in France and the United States later confirmed positive hantavirus tests involving one evacuee each.
Reacting to the development, the Spanish health ministry maintained that every necessary step had been taken to contain possible transmission.
“From the start, all the measures adopted have aimed at cutting the possible chains of transmission… all measures for prevention and control of transmission have been applied,” the ministry stated.
According to the ministry, the French passenger only started showing symptoms during the evacuation flight and not while onboard the ship.
The ministry also explained that the US citizen who tested positive had shown no symptoms while the vessel was docked in Cape Verde before arriving in the Canary Islands.
“However, the US authorities have decided to treat the case as positive. For that reason, they requested a separate evacuation, which was carried out in a separate boat,” the statement added.
Spanish authorities also disclosed that two additional repatriation flights to Australia and the Netherlands were scheduled for Monday as part of efforts to complete the evacuation of most passengers and crew members.
After refuelling, the ship is expected to depart for the Netherlands with a reduced crew onboard.
Spanish minister Angel Victor Torres expressed optimism that the remaining evacuations would be completed ahead of schedule.
Health officials have repeatedly stressed that hantavirus remains a rare disease usually spread among rodents and that the overall risk to global public health remains low.
Authorities have also dismissed comparisons between the situation and the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that there is currently no indication of widespread transmission.
