"We want to go home": alarm and uncertainty over hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship

BarcelonaSpain is studying whether or not to allow passengers and crew of the luxury cruise affected by a hantavirus outbreak to disembark in the Canary Islands, which has already caused the death of three people on board. The Ministry of Health has assured that it is carrying out "close monitoring" of the ship's situation "together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other involved countries". All this comes after Cape Verde (the cruise's previous stop) denied entry to the infected ship in its ports.

Following a meeting held this midday between the Spanish government, the Canary government, and the WHO, Spain has explained that a team of epidemiologists will review the ship to "ascertain the condition of the people on board and determine if there are more people with symptoms and what high or low-risk contacts there are". This intermediate step should help the authorities decide on the best way to repatriate and what route the cruise should follow, whether to return to Dutch territory (where the company is from) or to remain in Spain for disinfection.

This morning, however, the WHO had proceeded and explained that, after Cape Verde's refusal, the luxury cruise would continue to its next stop — the final one — in the Canary Islands, and that the ship would be cleaned there. This international health authority has, in fact, even assured, in the words of its head of emerging diseases and zoonoses, Maria Van Kerkhove, that Spain had agreed.

But the Spanish government does not see it so clearly: "Depending on the epidemiological data collected from the ship, during its stop in Cape Verde, it will be decided which stop is the most appropriate," Health sources reported at midday. "Until then – the same sources continue – the Ministry of Health will not adopt any decision, as we have already made known to the World Health Organization".

The situation is beginning to worry citizens both on and off the ship. Hantavirus is the name given to a group of viruses primarily transmitted by inhaling particles from the urine, excrement, or saliva of rodents – such as field mice and voles – that have been previously infected, and rarely between people. Therefore, at first it was speculated that those infected on the ship had contracted it before setting sail, but this morning the WHO has admitted that they do not rule out person-to-person transmission either, a fact that would change the protocols during disembarkation.

User @jakerosmarin, a passenger on the cruise, has posted a video on social media where they assert that what they are experiencing "is very real." "We are not a story, we are not just a headline," says the passenger, who is asking for clarity from the authorities and for someone to take them in. "We have people waiting for us at home," they said, visibly emotional, and added that all those on board the ship want is "to feel safe, get clarity, and go home":

The luxury ship left the Argentine port of Ushuaia on March 20 and was currently heading to Cape Verde, just before finishing its route, in the Canary Islands. On board were a total of 147 people: 88 passengers and 59 crew members. In total, there are people of 23 different nationalities, among whom there are 13 passengers and one crew member of Spanish nationality. Of these, five reside in Catalonia.

Three of the passengers fell ill and died on board the ship and a fourth person is in critical condition. In addition, there are three more suspected cases of contagion. In total, seven cases, of which only two have been definitively confirmed as positive for hantavirus in a laboratory. The rest, however, share many symptoms, according to the WHO.

Repatriate the passengers

In the morning, the director of the Center for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, Fernando Simón, explained in statements to Catalunya Ràdio that, once it leaves Cape Verde, "there will no longer be sick people on the ship" because they will have already been repatriated. He also clarified that "it is not clear" that the ship will finally head towards Spain and assured that the teams are still working to clarify what the best destination for the ship is. "It is not clear yet, the ship has a Dutch flag, and work is still being done on the possibility of it returning there," he explained.

In any case, if he finally docks in the Canary Islands, Simón sends a reassuring message: "Obviously, if a sick person arrives on the way, they will have to be taken off the ship and treated, and luckily he will arrive on an island that is very prepared to attend to him without anyone else getting infected," he assured. The public health emergency expert who largely led the coronavirus crisis also stressed that "although some cases have occurred, the transmission of hantavirus between people is very difficult."