The head of the World Health Organisation reached Spain to oversee the evacuation of more than 140 passengers and crew members from a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak and headed to the Canary Islands.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, he would travel to the Spanish island of Tenerife, along with senior Spanish government officials, to supervise the safe disembarkation of passengers, crew members and health experts.
The Dutch-flagged cruise ship, MV Hondius, is expected to reach Tenerife in the early hours tomorrow. Tedros said that no one currently on board the ship is showing symptoms of the virus. However, passengers will be kept in isolation.
Three people have died in the outbreak so far, while five passengers who had earlier left the ship have tested positive for hantavirus. The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to send aircraft to evacuate their citizens from the cruise ship.
Hantavirus is usually spread through contact with contaminated rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between humans. However, the Andes virus detected in this outbreak may spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms generally appear between one and eight weeks after exposure.