Spain will accept the MV Hondius cruise ship, which has an outbreak of hantavirus, but the regional government of the Canary Islands is protesting.
This was reported by Reuters and the Spanish Ministry of Health.
The ship is currently in Cape Verde, where it is being inspected and people evacuated if necessary. The remaining passengers will be headed to the Canary Islands.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHOʼs director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, said the hantavirus outbreak could have been caused by close human contact. She said the virus may have first appeared in a Dutch couple who became ill in South America and then spread the infection to others.
According to the BBC, three people have died from the virus outbreak on the ship. For its part, the World Health Organization reported that eight cases of hantavirus have been registered, three of which have been laboratory confirmed.
There are currently 146 people from 23 countries on the ship, including five Ukrainian crew members (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine previously reported about them).
- Hantavirus is a genus of viruses carried by rodents. In humans, it affects the lungs and kidneys.
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