Health and emergency authorities are working against the clock to prepare for the arrival of the MV Hondius this weekend in the Canary Islands. The luxury cruise ship, the focus of the hantavirus outbreak, will anchor in the port of La Granadilla, in Tenerife, and from there passengers and crew will be transported to their home countries. In fact, the Spanish government has assured that no one will disembark without prior confirmation that their plane is ready to take off. On board are passengers and crew of 23 different nationalities, from within and outside the European Union, and since Thursday meetings have been held to also organize repatriations.

Hantavirus is so called because, although it is ancient, the first outbreak of the disease that was scientifically studied was contracted by North American soldiers patrolling near the Hantan River during the Korean War, in the 1950s. It is a known virus with several families: human transmission is only known in the so-called Andes hantavirus, which is what affected the passengers of the MV Hondius. It does not have the virulence of COVID, that of the flu or, even less so, that of measles, but the mortality rate if left untreated is indeed high. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are five confirmed cases, three of which have resulted in death, and three more symptomatic cases awaiting PCR results. The possibility of a ninth case has also emerged, which would be a flight attendant who was in contact with a woman who died. If confirmed, it would be worrying, as it would be the first person to have been infected without being on board the ship.