Hantavirus Ship
A passenger on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, takes a photo of the ship's weighing anchor in Praia, during the voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026.
As featured on
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Officials in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province are challe…
The head of the World Health Organization is seeking to reassure residents of the Spanish island of Tenerife worried about the anticipated arrival there of a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship. He issued a direct message to them Saturday stressing that the virus is “not another COVID.” The MV Hondius has more than 140 passengers and crew on board. It is headed to Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa. It is expected to arrive at the island of Tenerife early Sunday. Once there, the passengers and some crew will disembark. Officials say no one on the ship is currently showing symptoms of hantavirus.
Passengers have started disembarking from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship anchored off Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. An Associated Press journalist at the scene said that some people were seen arriving on land after leaving the ship on Sunday. Spain’s health ministry said that Spanish nationals would be the first to leave the ship and would be ferried off in small launch boats that carry between five and 10 people. Authorities say nobody among the more than 140 people on the MV Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.