The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) was set to travel to Tenerife on Saturday to help oversee the evacuation of passengers affected by a hantavirus outbreak, according to Spanish media.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (main image) will join Spain’s health and interior ministers at a command centre on the island. The aim, officials said, is ‘to ensure coordination between administrations, health control, and the application of the planned surveillance and response protocols’.
The outbreak has been linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, where three passengers — a Dutch couple and a German woman — have died. Several others have been infected with hantavirus, a rare illness typically transmitted by rodents.
Health authorities have confirmed the presence of the Andes strain, the only form of hantavirus known to spread between humans, heightening global concern.
The vessel, sailing under a Dutch flag with around 150 people on board, is due to reach Tenerife on Sunday. From there, passengers are expected to be flown back to their respective countries on specially arranged flights. ALSO READ: Spain says it has ‘legal tools’ for quarantine as hantavirus cruise ship to ‘anchor offshore’ Tenerife.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the WHO stressed on Friday that the wider public faces minimal danger.
‘This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who’s really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low,’ WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters. Click here for the WHO’s full fact sheet on hantavirus.
He added that early observations suggested limited transmission on board: ‘even those who have been sharing cabins don’t seem to be both infected in some cases’, when one has fallen sick.
‘The virus is not that contagious that it easily jumps from person to person,’ he said.
The WHO reported six confirmed cases out of eight initially suspected, with no remaining suspected cases currently on the ship. ALSO READ: Hantavirus-hit cruise ship eyes Canary Islands after Cape Verde refusal.
Separately, a flight attendant from Dutch airline KLM who had contact with an infected passenger later tested negative, despite showing mild symptoms.
The infected passenger — the wife of the first fatality — had briefly boarded a flight from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on 25 April but was removed before departure. She died the next day in hospital in Johannesburg.
Spanish officials are also monitoring a woman in Alicante who developed symptoms after being on that same flight. She is currently isolated in hospital and will undergo tests, health secretary Javier Padilla confirmed.
‘This is a pretty unlikely case,’ he said, noting she had been seated ‘two rows behind the person who died with hantavirus’.
Authorities also said a South African passenger from the flight remains symptom-free after returning home, having previously spent a week in Barcelona.
Elsewhere, two residents of Singapore who had travelled on the ship tested negative but remain in quarantine as a precaution.
The MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina on 1 April for an Atlantic crossing to Cape Verde. During the voyage, three suspected cases — including two crew members who later tested positive — were evacuated to the Netherlands. A third individual later tested negative but remains under observation.
Provincial health official Juan Petrina said there was an ‘almost zero chance’ the Dutch victim contracted the virus in Ushuaia, citing the incubation period.
Passengers on board have described calm conditions despite the outbreak. Travel vlogger Kasem Ibn Hattuta said doctors had joined the vessel, helping reassure those on board.
‘We finally left Cape Verde which was a relief for everyone on board, specially knowing that our sick colleagues are finally getting the medical care they need,’ he said.
‘People are smiling and taking the situation calmly,’ he added, noting that masks were being worn indoors and social distancing observed.
The United States is organising an evacuation flight for its citizens, who will be transferred to a quarantine facility in Nebraska upon arrival.
Spanish authorities have confirmed the ship will remain offshore and will not dock in Tenerife. Passengers will instead be ferried to land by smaller boats before being transported by bus to the airport.
Officials say the evacuation must be completed between Sunday and Monday due to expected adverse weather conditions.
Meanwhile, dock workers in Tenerife staged protests on Friday against the ship’s arrival.
The cruise had also stopped at several remote British territories in the South Atlantic. UK health officials said a suspected case has been identified on Tristan da Cunha, one of the world’s most isolated communities, with a population of around 220 people.
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So far, eight cases of #hantavirus have been reported, including three deaths.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 7, 2026
While this is a serious incident, @WHO assesses the public health risk as low.
WHO will continue to work with all relevant governments and partners to provide care for those who are affected, protect… pic.twitter.com/NEBHXrqurT
Buenas noticias:
— Mónica García (@Monica_Garcia_G) May 8, 2026
La segunda persona que viajó en el avión en el que coincidió la mujer neerlandesa del crucero MV Hondius, fallecida posteriormente por hantavirus en Johannesburgo, confirmamos que ha sido localizada.
La mujer, de nacionalidad sudafricana, se encuentra…
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