Cruise Ship Hondius Underway After Three People Were Medically Evacuated

The expedition cruise ship Hondius, dealing with the outbreak of hantavirus, got back underway late on Wednesday, May 6, with its destination being reported as the Canary Islands. Earlier in the day, the World Health Organization, working with the RIVM (Dutch Institute for Public Health and Environment), effected the medical evacuation of two ill crewmembers and an asymptomatic passenger.

The ship’s movement to the Canary Islands is being closely tracked, with the operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, reporting that discussions were still underway regarding the arrival and procedures. A member of the local government in the Canary Islands told interviewers that they were not being consulted and questioned why the passengers could not have been repatriated from Cape Verde.

Spain’s Health Minister, Monica Garcia, however, told reporters that the decision had been made and the ship would proceed to Tenerife. The trip is expected to take approximately three days, and the ship will be placed in the industrial port of Granadilla at the southern end of Tenerife. The passengers will remain isolated and undergo additional medical screening with the intent to repatriate them to their respective countries.

RIVM sent two infectious disease physicians on the planes from the Netherlands to Cape Verde. The doctors boarded the cruise ship and are traveling with the ship to ensure that expanded medical care is available if needed.

The two crewmembers, one from the Netherlands and the other from the UK, were airlifted from Cape Verde on a specially equipped air ambulance. The plane, according to media reports, was denied entry into Moroccan airspace. The plan had been to refuel at Marrakesh, but instead the plane had to divert to Gran Canaria to refuel. Unconfirmed reports are that it has now arrived in Amsterdam.

One passenger, a German citizen, was also medically evacuated and flew on a separate flight to Düsseldorf, where she will enter a hospital. The woman was traveling with another passenger who died on May 2. Neither has been confirmed to have hantavirus, and she is reported to be asymptomatic.

The WHO reported that it has confirmed that the virus is the Andes variant, which has been known to be able to be transmitted between humans who are in close contact. Yesterday, the WHO said it suspected the virus came aboard the ship with a passenger who had likely been infected before boarding and then spread on the ship. They did not rule out that the passengers were infected during a port stop during the cruise, but they do not believe the source was on the ship.

Swiss authorities, however, also confirmed a third case of the virus associated with the Hondius. A passenger who was on the first leg of the cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina, to St. Helena has now tested positive for the virus at a hospital in Zurich. This person’s wife is also self-isolating as a precaution.

So far, the authorities have confirmed one case of hantavirus in a passenger who died on April 26, two days after disembarking the cruise ship. A second passenger was medically evacuated on April 27 to a hospital in Johannesburg and is in serious condition. They also have a confirmed case of the virus.

Oceanwide had reported there were 88 passengers, including the one deceased individual, when the ship reached Cape Verde. There were also 61 crewmembers aboard. The ship has been on the highest level of medical protocols, with passengers asked to stay in their cabins, and the ship was undergoing disinfection. The company stresses that no additional cases have been identified and that it has been in touch with everyone who was aboard the ship during this cruise.