Cruise ship with hantavirus outbreak to sail to Canary Islands

A Dutch cruise ship with a hantavirus outbreak on board is to sail to the Canary Islands, Spain has said.

Spain's health ministry said officials were determining which passengers required urgent evacuation from Cape Verde, where the ship was docked.

The remaining passengers would go on to the Canary Islands, where they were expected to arrive within three to four days, it said, adding that the exact port of arrival had not yet been decided. Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said its plan was to sail to "Gran Canaria or Tenerife".

Three passengers who were aboard the MV Hondius have died, after it set sail from Argentina on its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean around a month ago.

Two crew members, including the ship's doctor, require urgent medical care and are waiting to be medically evacuated. A third person linked to a German national who died is also due to be evacuated.

In its statement, the health ministry said the doctor, who was in serious condition, was due to be evacuated to the Canary Islands on Tuesday on a hospital aircraft.

It said the World Health Organization (WHO) had explained that Cape Verde "cannot carry out this operation".

"The Canary Islands are the closest location with the necessary capabilities. Spain has a moral and legal obligation to assist these people, among whom are several Spanish citizens," the statement added.

After arriving at the Canary Islands, crew and passengers would be examined, given whatever care was needed and would then be able to begin their journeys back home, Spain's health ministry said in a statement.

All interactions with those who had been on the MV Hondius would happen in "special spaces and transports specifically set up for this situation", the ministry said.

This is to help in "avoiding all contact with the local population and ensuring the safety of healthcare personnel", it added.

Hantavirus is usually spread from rodents, but the WHO has said it could have spread among "really close contacts" aboard the ship. It stressed the risk to the public was low.

Seven cases of hantavirus - two confirmed and five suspected - have so far been identified, according to the latest WHO update.

The two confirmed cases are a Dutch woman, who is among those who died, and a 69-year-old UK national who was evacuated to South Africa for medical treatment.

The woman's husband also died but he is not a confirmed case, nor is the German national who passed away on 2 May.

Some 149 people from 23 countries remained aboard under "strict precautionary measures", the ship's operator Oceanwide Expeditions said.

Aside from a British crew member, who is among those due to be evacuated, there are 22 other British nationals aboard.