Canary Islands prepares to receive hantavirus cruise ship, with at least one passenger in serious condition

The destination of the MV Hondius cruise ship, where health authorities have detected a hantavirus outbreak, with at least three deaths and several more infected, remains the Canary Islands, specifically the island of Tenerife.

The ship is currently anchored in Cape Verde, with the passengers and the crew under quarantine. On 6 May, the infected passengers were evacuated from the ship.

The Nuestra Señora de Candelaria hospital in Tenerife has already activated the high-level isolation and treatment unit. The hospital is part of a state network specialising in high-risk infectious diseases. According to local media in the Canary Islands, a patient with severe symptoms is still aboard the Hondius and should be treated at this centre, as per a humanitarian agreement between the WHO (World Health Organization) and the Ministry of Health.

The hospital has requested information about the patient's condition to "assess the response capacity". According to sources, the president of the regional government of the Canary Islands, Pedro Clavijo, learnt of this decision by "letter", while he was in Brussels.

From there, Clavijo demanded an "urgent meeting" with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Clavijo denounced that he had not received "the technical criteria" regarding this "request for assistance" that Spain had accepted. He stated that "no one opposes helping the affected population", but added that the Canary Islands port authorities had not received a request for docking.

Pedro Sánchez will chair the "follow-up meeting to address the WHO's request to receive the MV Hondius vessel in the Canary Islands, in compliance with international law and humanitarian principles".

According to Clavijo, Minister of Health Mónica García had assured him that the ship would not dock in the Canary Islands, which he considers a lack of "institutional loyalty". He opposes the decision the Spanish government has made following the request from the WHO and the EU that the ship stop in the Canary Islands to manage the healthcare of passengers and crew under a strict international protocol. "Spain has a moral and legal obligation to assist these people," the international institutions stated.

In statements to Onda Cero, Clavijo said that there is not "enough information to maintain a message of calm and guarantee the safety of the Canary Island population". "I cannot allow it to enter the Canary Islands," he said, threatening to take legal action.

In any case, the Spanish government plans to set up a specific health system, with transfers and medical care in controlled spaces to avoid any contact with the local population.

The WHO investigation has summarised the cases of this hantavirus outbreak.

The first was an "adult male" who experienced fever, headache and mild diarrhea on 6 April 2026, while on board the ship. Five days later, he "developed respiratory distress and died that same day, with no further microbiological tests". On 24 April, his body was transferred to St Helena, a British island.

The second case was an adult woman, the partner or close contact of the deceased. She disembarked with gastrointestinal symptoms on the day the man's body was disembarked. Her condition worsened during a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, on 25 April. She died upon arrival at the emergency department on 26 April. On 4 May, the case was confirmed by PCR testing as hantavirus infection. Contact tracing of the passengers on the flight has begun.

Both had travelled through South America, before embarking on the cruise on 1 April 2026, the WHO has stated.

The third fatal case was that of an adult woman, who developed pneumonia and died on 2 May 2026. Symptoms began on 28 April, with fever and general malaise.

The patient currently in critical condition was an adult male, who went to the ship's doctor on 24 April 2026, with fever, shortness of breath and symptoms of pneumonia. On 26 April, his condition worsened. He was airlifted to South Africa on 27 April, where he is currently hospitalised in the ICU.

Laboratory tests for a broad panel of respiratory pathogens were negative. However, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing confirmed the hantavirus infection on 2 May 2026. Serological, sequencing and metagenomic studies are under way.