90-Second Read: Repatriation flight video falsely shared as evidence of staged Hantavirus crisis

Video showing passengers of a Hantavirus stricken ship preparing to board a repatriation flight has been seized on by social media users falsely claiming the presence of an individual without protecti... The circulating posts betray a lack of understanding of how the disease can spread, and the video shared by these posts corresponds to news footage of the complex repatriation operation carried out in Tenerife. The Hantavirus outbreak has reawakened dormant conspiracy theories about health crises, including claims debunked by AFP about evacuations being staged and involved crisis actors. Twelve suspected and confirmed cases have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), including three deaths ( archived link ).

The video's description says it shows the first 14 Spanish passengers arriving on the tarmac before their transfer to a military hospital in Madrid. Humans are mainly infected with the Hantavirus by inhaling aerosols contaminated by the saliva, droppings or urine of animals or through direct contact with faeces, or via bites or scratches ( archived link ). The Spanish health ministry spokesperson added that the people seen in the background are the ship's passengers. Although the virus strain found aboard the MV Hondius can spread between humans, transmission is associated with close and prolonged contact.

Health authorities in Spain, where the clip was filmed, told AFP the man is likely an airport worker who would not have had direct contact with the evacuated passengers. A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found that the circulating clip was taken from a video published by Televisión Canaria, the regional public broadcaster of Spain's Canary Islands, on YouTube on May 10 ( archived link )). A spokesperson for Spain's Health Ministry told AFP on May 22 that the man seen in the foreground, not dressed in protective gear, is most likely an airport worker. AFP video journalist Gaspard Flamand, who covered the operation, said he saw no evidence of simulated events on the Tenerife airport tarmac.

The clip also punches in to focus on a man in the foreground, a few metres away from the other people, who does not appear to be wearing any protective equipment except for a pair of blue gloves. The Andes virus found aboard the Hondius is the only strain for which there are confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, but these cases have been associated with close and prolonged contact -- particularly among household members or intimate partners ( archived link ).