Hantavirus Ship Heads for Canary Islands as Patients Evacuated

A vessel grappling with a deadly outbreak of hantavirus evacuated three people on Wednesday, including two in serious condition, and will head toward Spain’s Canary Islands to disembark the roughly 150 passengers still on board.

The two symptomatic individuals evacuated from the ship, MV Hondius, haven’t tested positive for the virus so far, its operator Oceanwide Expeditions BV said. The third person, who is asymptomatic, was a close contact of a passenger who died earlier in the voyage. The company also said infectious disease specialists are being flown in from the Netherlands to support care on board.