Passengers and crew from the MV Hondius cruise liner started leaving the vessel in Tenerife on Sunday as health authorities tracked eight confirmed cases of the Andes virus linked to the outbreak.
The MV Hondius docked off the coast at the Port of Granadilla de Abona early on Sunday morning. Passengers were transported to shore in small groups using the ship’s Zodiac craft before being screened by port health officials and bused to military repatriation flights.
Dr Maria van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization said all passengers on board were classified as high-risk contacts. She noted the virus has an incubation period of up to six weeks and recommended 42 days of quarantine and daily monitoring for fever and symptoms.
South African scientists at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases identified the Andes virus strain within 24 hours of receiving samples. The first case involved a 70-year-old Dutch man who died on board on 11 April after exposure in Argentina. His widow died in Johannesburg on 26 April after testing positive.
Forty-six passengers from Spain, France, Canada and the Netherlands had left the ship by Sunday morning. The operation is scheduled to conclude on Monday. No South Africans were on board.
