Five Ukrainian sailors are on board a cruise ship infected with the Hantavirus
Ukrainians on board the MV Hondius
Five Ukrainian sailors are on board the cruise ship MV Hondius, where an outbreak of hantavirus has been reported.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported that one Ukrainian is to leave the ship immediately. Four other Ukrainian sailors will remain on board to sail the ship to the Netherlands.
Upon arrival in Rotterdam, the ship is to be disinfected. According to the cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions, the journey to the Netherlands will take around five days.
Passenger evacuation
Passengers on the MV Hondius began leaving the ship on 10 May after arriving in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, according to the AP and the BBC.
The evacuation is being carried out using military and government flights. Planes carrying citizens from more than 20 countries have arrived in Tenerife.
During disembarkation, passengers were accompanied by staff in protective suits and respirators. People were allowed to take only a small bag with essentials, a mobile phone, a charger and documents. Luggage remained on board.
Spanish nationals were the first to leave the ship. They were taken to Madrid and then transferred to a military hospital.
The flight carrying US citizens was due to arrive in Omaha, Nebraska, on 11 May. After that, the passengers were to be taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Centre, which houses a federal quarantine facility.
According to Nebraska Medicine, one of the 17 evacuated US citizens tested positive for hantavirus but has no symptoms. He was to be taken to a biocontainment unit, while the other passengers were to be taken to the National Quarantine Centre for assessment and observation.
France, Britain and the Netherlands
During a separate evacuation flight to France, one of the five French passengers developed symptoms. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that all passengers on the flight had been isolated and were being prepared for testing.
A plane carrying 20 British nationals evacuated from the MV Hondius has arrived in the UK. They were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, for a 72-hour isolation period. A German national who is a UK resident and a passenger from Japan will also be staying there.
After completing their isolation at Arrowe Park, the former passengers will be asked to self-isolate for a further 42 days.
A Dutch evacuation flight landed in Eindhoven on 10 May. There were 26 people on board, including eight Dutch nationals, as well as passengers from India, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Ukraine, Guatemala, the Philippines and Montenegro.
The Dutch nationals were transported home by medical transport, where they will undergo a six-week self-isolation period. For the others, quarantine facilities are being organised by the local health service.
Risk of hantavirus spread and control measures
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the risk to the public remains low.
“We have repeated the same answer many times. This is not a new COVID. And the risk to the public is low. Therefore, people should not be afraid or panic,” he said.
The WHO recommends that countries to which passengers are returning carry out active monitoring and daily medical observation at home or in specialist facilities.
WHO’s leading epidemiologist, Maria van Kerkhove, stated that the organisation’s recommendations regarding further monitoring are clear, but each country determines its own policy independently.
Japan has reported that one of its citizens has already arrived in the UK on a charter flight organised by the British authorities and will remain under medical supervision for up to 45 days.
Australia is sending a plane to evacuate its citizens and passengers from neighbouring countries, including New Zealand, as well as some Asian states.
Norway has sent a medical aircraft to Tenerife with staff trained to transport patients with highly dangerous infections.
British military medics have also been deployed to Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic. There, one of the 221 residents is suspected of having hantavirus. This patient was a passenger on the MV Hondius and disembarked from the vessel last month.
