Spanish passenger tests positive for hantavirus following cruise ship outbreak

A Spanish passenger evacuated from the cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak has tested positive for the virus, Spain’s health ministry announced on Tuesday as the World Health Organization said it has now confirmed 11 cases, including three people from the cruise who died.

The passenger with the new confirmed case of hantavirus was in quarantine in a military hospital in Madrid, where 13 other Spanish nationals evacuated on Sunday – who all tested negative for the virus – also are staying.

With the evacuation of all passengers and many crew members completed, the MV Hondius is now sailing back to the Netherlands, where it will be cleaned and disinfected.

The director-general of the World Health Organization, who was in Madrid, said all 11 confirmed cases are among passengers or crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship, including three people who died. Nine of the 11 cases have been confirmed as the Andes virus.

“These numbers have changed little over the past week thanks to the governments of multiple countries and partners,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, said.