Hantavirus response in the U.S.: 7 states prepare to receive cruise ship passengers

The U.S. has entered emergency response mode as a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak sails toward one of Spain’s Canary Islands.

The U.S. has entered emergency response mode as a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak sails toward Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, where it will evacuate nearly 150 passengers on board, including at least 17 Americans.

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State and local health officials in the U.S. are monitoring at least eight passengers who disembarked on April 24 and returned home. For the time being, those individuals are not being told to isolate, since they have not developed symptoms.

General view from the Port of Granadilla, where the HV Hondius is expected to arrive in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on Friday.Andres Gutierrez / Anadolu via Getty ImagesAs early as Sunday, global health authorities will help transport passengers still on board the ship — all of whom are currently asymptomatic — to their respective home countries. Passengers will be taken to a “completely isolated, cordoned-off” area in Tenerife, then board guarded vehicles to transport them to a section of the local airport that will also be cordoned off, Virginia Barcones, Spain’s head of emergency services, said Thursday at a press conference.