Hantavirus update: Cases linked to MV Hondius rise into double figures as global repatriation effort intensifies

The number of hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak has risen into double figures as repatriation flights continue and multiple countries step up quarantine, isolation, and medical transport measures for returning passengers.

The Dutch expedition vessel docked at the port of Granadilla de Abona in Tenerife on Sunday, triggering a tightly coordinated international evacuation involving specialist infection control teams, charter aircraft and hospital quarantine facilities.

Health authorities had previously confirmed eight cases linked to the outbreak – six laboratory-confirmed infections and two suspected cases – including three deaths. However, new cases identified in France and the US now push the total number of confirmed and suspected infections to at least 10.

French authorities confirmed that one passenger evacuated from the ship tested positive after arriving in Paris, where five French nationals were transferred directly from the airport to Bichat Hospital under strict isolation protocols. French officials said one passenger began showing symptoms during the repatriation flight from Tenerife.

In the US, health officials said one American passenger tested “mildly positive” for the Andes strain of hantavirus, while another developed mild symptoms during evacuation. Both were transported in biocontainment units aboard a US government-chartered repatriation flight carrying 17 American passengers and one UK resident to Nebraska.

The aircraft landed at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, where passengers were transferred to the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit for further monitoring and assessment.

Meanwhile, 20 British nationals evacuated from the MV Hondius arrived in the UK on Sunday evening and have begun a 45-day isolation period. The passengers were flown from Tenerife to Manchester Airport before being transferred by coach to Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside, which previously housed evacuees during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The group will spend an initial 72 hours in monitored quarantine before continuing isolation at home or another approved location for a further 42 days. UK officials said all passengers arrived asymptomatic.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that two British nationals linked to the outbreak remain hospitalised overseas – one in Johannesburg and another in the Netherlands – while a third suspected British case is in isolation on Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic.

In response, the UK Ministry of Defence launched a rare humanitarian aeromedical support operation, parachuting six Army paratroopers, an RAF consultant and an Army nurse onto the remote island alongside oxygen supplies and medical aid. The deployment marked the first time UK military medical personnel have been parachuted into the territory for humanitarian support.

Spanish officials said more than 90 passengers and crew members were expected to be repatriated by the end of Sunday, with additional flights for Australia and the Netherlands scheduled to depart on Monday. Australian authorities confirmed that five Australians and one New Zealander will enter quarantine at the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience near Perth following arrival.