The Hague, May 11: A French woman and two American passengers either tested positive or showed symptoms of hantavirus after being evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius, where an outbreak has triggered an international health response.
Countries around the world are now repatriating passengers and placing them under quarantine or medical observation to prevent further spread of the disease.
The cruise ship anchored in the Canary Islands, and passengers began leaving on military and government-organised flights on Sunday.
In Tenerife, health workers wearing full-body protective suits and breathing masks escorted travellers from the ship to aircraft as part of strict containment measures.
French Health Minister Stephanie Rist confirmed that a French woman repatriated to Paris tested positive for hantavirus and her condition worsened overnight in hospital.
She was among five French passengers flown from the ship and reportedly developed symptoms during the flight.
In the United States, one of the 17 evacuated passengers flown to Nebraska tested positive but showed no symptoms, while another had mild symptoms.
Upon arrival, the Americans were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which operates specialised quarantine and biocontainment units used previously during the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola outbreaks.
Health officials said the infected passenger would be isolated in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit while others undergo monitoring and risk assessment.
The World Health Organization has urged countries to closely monitor returning passengers through daily health checks at home or in specialised facilities. Several nations have already announced quarantine measures or hospital observation for evacuees.
So far, three people linked to the outbreak have died, and at least five former passengers have been infected.
Despite the concern, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that the public should not panic, saying the outbreak is not comparable to COVID-19 and that the overall risk remains low.
Hantavirus is usually spread through contact with rodent droppings and is generally not transmitted easily between humans.
However, the Andes strain detected in the outbreak may rarely spread from person to person. Symptoms can appear anywhere from one to eight weeks after exposure.
Meanwhile, countries including Australia and the Netherlands continued evacuation operations for their citizens and other foreign nationals from Tenerife as authorities worked to contain the outbreak and prevent wider transmission. (AP)
