Spain confirms new hantavirus infection linked to quarantined cruise passengers

MADRID: Spain’s Health Ministry on Monday confirmed a new hantavirus infection among Spanish nationals quarantined after being evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius earlier this month.

The newly infected individual is the second positive case detected among 14 Spanish nationals evacuated to the island of Tenerife from the luxury liner, which had around 150 passengers and crew members from 23 countries on board when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2.

Following confirmation of the infection, the patient was transferred to an isolation unit at Madrid’s Gómez Ulla military hospital, the ministry said in a post on X.

Spanish health authorities added that the case was identified among individuals already under quarantine and stressed that it “does not modify the risk situation” for the general public.