Madrid: The cruise ship MV Hondius, which has been at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak, has started sailing towards Spain’s Canary Islands after three people were evacuated for medical treatment, according to its operator.

The Dutch-flagged vessel departed Cape Verde on Wednesday evening and is expected to reach the Canary Islands within the next three to four days, operator Oceanwide Expeditions BV said.

Two of the evacuated individuals have already arrived in the Netherlands for treatment. A third evacuation flight has reportedly been delayed.

The company also confirmed that three additional medical professionals had boarded the ship to assist passengers and crew during the voyage.

According to Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia, the vessel is likely to arrive at the Granadilla de Abona port in Tenerife on Saturday.

However, regional authorities in Spain have reportedly raised concerns regarding both the timing and logistics of the arrival plan.

The outbreak has prompted a coordinated international response involving several countries, with authorities managing evacuations, passenger screening and repatriation efforts.

“All passengers and crew who remain on the ship as of today are asymptomatic,” Garcia said.

She added that, unless prevented by medical conditions, all foreign nationals on board would be repatriated under a protocol coordinated by the European Commission with assistance from the World Health Organization.

Spain’s 13 passengers and one crew member from the vessel will reportedly be transferred to a military hospital in Madrid for quarantine.

WHO confirms cases linked to outbreak

The World Health Organization has identified eight cases connected to the outbreak aboard the ship. Of these, five are suspected cases and three have been laboratory confirmed. Three deaths have also been linked to the outbreak.

Passengers, crew members and expedition staff from 23 countries remain aboard the Hondius.

Hantavirus is a rare disease usually transmitted through exposure to infected rodent droppings or by inhaling contaminated dust particles. Symptoms may take several weeks to develop and, in severe situations, the illness can rapidly lead to respiratory failure. Fatality rates in the Americas can reportedly reach up to 50 percent.

Dutch couple among those who died

The first known patient was a Dutch man who, along with his wife, travelled through South America before boarding the ship in Argentina on April 1.

Both individuals have since died.

Meanwhile, a passenger who left the cruise during the first leg of the journey in late April is receiving treatment at University Hospital Zurich after testing positive for the Andes variant of hantavirus.

The Andes strain has previously been associated with rare instances of human-to-human transmission.

The patient remains in isolation, while his wife, who travelled with him, is self-isolating despite showing no symptoms.

South Africa and Switzerland Monitoring Situation

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases also confirmed the Andes variant in one evacuated patient who is currently in intensive care.

South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said authorities had identified 62 individuals linked to the outbreak, including travellers entering the country and local contacts.

Of those, 42 people have been traced so far, and none have tested positive for the virus.

The Swiss government said on Wednesday that the overall risk of transmission to the public remained low and stated that it considered “the occurrence of further cases in Switzerland unlikely”.

Investigators still studying source of spread

Health investigators are continuing efforts to determine exactly how the virus spread among those connected to the cruise.

Authorities are examining whether infections occurred before passengers boarded the vessel or whether there may have been limited transmission through close contact while on board the ship.

With agency inputs