US quarantines cruise passengers after hantavirus outbreak

US health officials are preparing quarantine measures for American passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship as the vessel approaches Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands following a deadly outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus that has killed three people, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Outbreak Details

The MV Hondius departed from Argentina and crossed the Atlantic with approximately 150 passengers and crew members from 23 countries before reporting a cluster of respiratory illnesses while sailing near Cape Verde off West Africa. Scientists confirmed the outbreak involves the rare Andes variant — the only known strain capable of human-to-human transmission, typically through close contact — and the World Health Organization said five cases have been confirmed, including three deaths. Two passengers who later died had traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding the vessel, WHO officials noted.

US Response

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deployed personnel to Tenerife to assist the 17 Americans on board when the ship docks Sunday, while the State Department arranges a repatriation flight to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. CDC officials said passengers will undergo monitoring for about six weeks reflecting the incubation period, and health authorities in several US states are tracking travelers who had already left the vessel before the outbreak was confirmed.

The CDC has classified the outbreak as a Level 3 emergency response, its lowest activation level, according to the agency. Spanish authorities are preparing for the vessel's arrival in Tenerife on Sunday as the ship completes its Atlantic crossing.