Two planes carrying 28 passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship landed in the Netherlands on Tuesday after the vessel was affected by a hantavirus outbreak. A Dutch hospital treating one infected passenger also placed 12 staff members into preventive quarantine.
The aircraft arrived shortly after midnight at Eindhoven Airport with eight Dutch nationals on board. Authorities said other passengers of different nationalities would continue their journeys home from the Netherlands, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Radboudumc hospital in the city of Nijmegen said 12 employees were quarantined for six weeks after blood and urine samples were handled before stricter safety protocols were introduced. The hospital stressed that the infection risk remains very low and patient care continues normally.
Radboudumc admitted a Hondius passenger infected with hantavirus on May 7. Chair of the hospital’s executive board Bertine Lahuis said the incident would be carefully reviewed to prevent similar situations in the future.
Meanwhile, the Hondius departed for the Netherlands late Monday with 25 crew members, a doctor and a nurse still on board. All passengers have now disembarked. Ship owner Oceanwide Expeditions said the vessel is expected to arrive in the Netherlands by May 17.
Three people — a Dutch couple and a German citizen — have died since the outbreak began on the ship. Hantavirus is usually spread by wild rodents but can also be transmitted between people in rare cases involving close contact.
The World Health Organization said there are currently seven confirmed cases of the Andes strain of hantavirus and two additional suspected cases. One person died before testing could be carried out, while another suspected case was reported on Tristan da Cunha, where testing facilities were unavailable.
A French passenger tested positive after the ship docked in the Canary Islands on Sunday. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the passenger remains in intensive care in stable condition after her health briefly worsened.
Spanish health authorities also confirmed that one of 14 people quarantined at a military hospital in Madrid tested positive for the virus. Officials said the patient has shown no symptoms and additional tests are being conducted before a final diagnosis is confirmed.