A broad shot of the passenger vessel MV Hondius, as it sits motionless outside the harbor of Praia, the capital city of Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026.AFP via Getty Images
LONDON and BELGRADE, Serbia — The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that three individuals have been taken from the MV Hondius, a tourist ship experiencing a potential hantavirus outbreak.
WHO representatives in Cape Verde informed ABC News that the individuals would be moved to ambulances awaiting them on the coastline. Subsequently, the three were slated for transport to an airport, where they were scheduled to embark on a dedicated medical evacuation flight headed to the Netherlands.
"WHO is still collaborating with the ship’s management to carefully observe the well-being of both passengers and crew, cooperating with countries to offer suitable medical monitoring and evacuation where it’s needed," affirmed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general, on social media, where he verified the removals.
Cape Verdean law enforcement personnel stand watch as ambulance boat personnel don protective gear, preparing to approach the cruise liner MV Hondius, while it remains docked near the port of Praia, Cape Verde’s capital, on May 6, 2026.AFP via Getty Images
"Observation and follow-up for passengers currently aboard and for those who have already departed has been commenced in partnership with the ship’s operators and domestic health agencies," he further stated.
He remarked that "the broad threat to public wellness is deemed minimal."
The WHO reported on Wednesday that eight potential instances of hantavirus had been documented among the cruise’s occupants, an increase from the seven reported the day prior. The WHO added that lab testing had confirmed three of these instances.
This overhead image shows workers clad in protective suits on a vessel heading towards the harbor from the cruise ship MV Hondius, positioned offshore from the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026.AFP via Getty Images
"Swiss authorities have verified a case of hantavirus detected in a passenger from the MV Hondius voyage," the WHO shared via social media on Wednesday. "He responded to an email from the ship’s owner advising passengers of the health incident, subsequently presenting himself at a Zurich, Switzerland, hospital, where he’s currently under care."
There have been three fatalities among the reported cases, including a married couple from the Netherlands; authorities confirmed that one of them had contracted hantavirus.
Cape Verde officials stated on Tuesday that the ship was projected to journey to Tenerife, an island belonging to Spain, where Spanish health bodies would take over additional investigations, encompassing laboratory analyses and medical evaluations, especially for elderly passengers.
A broad shot of the passenger vessel MV Hondius, as it sits motionless outside the harbor of Praia, the capital city of Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026.AFP via Getty Images
The chief of the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago situated off the northwest coast of Africa, announced on Wednesday that the local government was against permitting the upscale cruise liner to dock at Tenerife.
"This determination lacks any technical justification, nor is there adequate data to soothe public concerns or ensure their well-being," Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Canary Islands, told radio station COPE, according to Reuters.
Clavijo shared on social media that he had sought a meeting with the Spanish prime minister to deliberate on the ship. He incorporated that the Canary Islands "consistently behaves responsibly, but it cannot consent to choices made without informing Canary Islands organizations or providing enough data to its population."
Earlier on Wednesday, WHO personnel indicated that the three evacuees were to be transferred to planes heading for both the Netherlands and Tenerife; however, they later amended the strategy to ensure all would be sent to the Netherlands, as relayed by authorities to ABC News.
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Sourse: abcnews.go.com