90-Second Read: Cruise ship stricken with Hantavirus heads for Tenerife

A cruise ship hit by a Hantavirus outbreak is heading for Tenerife in the Canary Islands to disembark 140 passengers and crew after weeks stranded at sea. Three people have died and five passengers who left the ship are known to be infected with Hantavirus. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases.

The 140 passengers and crew on the Hondius will be 'completely isolated' and evacuated, say Spanish authorities. The WHO confirmed that one of its health officers, as well as officials from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Netherlands, are already on the ship. Hantavirus is usually spread by contaminated rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people.

Health authorities on four continents were tracking down and monitoring more than two dozen passengers who left the ship before the outbreak was first detected on May 2. Some people who live in the Canaries expressed concern that the passengers' arrival would create a health risk, and measures to contain it were insufficient. At least eight people fell ill on board the Dutch-flagged Hondius, which is due to reach the Spanish island off the west coast of Africa early on Sunday morning.