Eight cases have been recorded, three of them confirmed by laboratory testing, the World Health Organization said. Three people have died. One body remained on the ship, the WHO said.
Contact tracing had begun on at least two continents, Europe and Africa, in search of infections around people who earlier left the ship, which departed over a month ago from South America. Hantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings and can spread person-to-person, though the WHO calls that rare.
Among the patients being evacuated was the ship's Dutch doctor, who had been in “serious condition” but has improved, Spain’s health ministry said.
The Dutch foreign ministry said the three evacuated were a 56-year-old British national, a 41-year-old Dutch national and a 65-year-old German national who would be "immediately transferred to specialized hospitals in Europe.”
Two had presented acute symptoms, ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions said. It said one had been “closely associated” with a passenger who died on May 2, a German woman.
Spanish officials said passengers and crew members left on the ship are without symptoms. The journey to the Canary Islands will take three or four days, Spain’s health ministry said, adding that the arrival “won´t represent any risk for the public."
Meanwhile, authorities in Switzerland said a former passenger of the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius was being treated at a Zurich hospital after testing positive for the Andes strain of the virus. South African authorities earlier said two passengers who were transferred there tested positive for that.
