Two Indians aboard cruise ship with hantavirus cases evacuated to Netherlands

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Updated - May 11, 2026 06:38 am IST - London An ambulance departs the air base on the day passengers of the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, arrive at the Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands on May 10, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters Two Indian nationals aboard the Dutch vessel MV Hondius, which reported a hantavirus outbreak, were evacuated to the Netherlands and are healthy and asymptomatic, the Embassy of India in Spain said on Sunday (May 10, 2026). The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday (May 10, 2026) after the virus outbreak was reported. The ship with around 150 individuals, including two Indian crew members, anchored in the Canary Islands, the Indian mission said in a statement posted on social media. The passengers onboard disembarked from the ship in accordance with the protocol established by the WHO and Spanish authorities, it added. Also read: Why is hantavirus drawing global attention? | Explained “As informed by the Spanish National Centre for Emergency Monitoring and Coordination (CENEM), the two Indian nationals who were travelling as crew members have been evacuated to the Netherlands, where they will be quarantined as per relevant health safety protocol,” it said. Indian Ambassador to Spain Jayant N. Khobragade is in close contact with Spanish authorities and the two Indians to assure their well-being and safety, it added. “WHO experts on the ground are working with the Spanish Health Ministry on the epidemiological assessment of the passengers and coordinating charter flights with the Interior Ministry,” Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on social media after the disembarkation operation started. The operation included disinfection processes and personal protective equipment in each phase of the transfer. “Exterior Health confirms that all are asymptomatic,” he added. Hantaviruses are mainly transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodents or their excreta, such as saliva, urine and faeces. People usually get infected by inhaling aerosolised virus particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva in closed or poorly ventilated spaces such as warehouses, ships, barns and storage areas. The reported hantavirus cases appear to be isolated ones and its symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure. Three people have died since the outbreak was first reported. According to AP, five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus. Netherlands / viral diseases / public health/community medicine Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Two Indians aboard cruise ship with hantavirus cases evacuated to Netherlands

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Two Indians aboard cruise ship with hantavirus cases evacuated to Netherlands

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