US Evacuates Hantavirus Cruise Ship Passengers, Two Test Positive

An American and French national evacuated from a cruise ship anchored near Tenerife tested positive for hantavirus. The luxury vessel left Cape Verde on May 6, 2026, and evacuations began Sunday to Paris, Madrid, and the US. Eight people fell ill, with three deaths: a Dutch couple and a German national. The WHO recommended a 42-day quarantine starting May 10, 2026 for all passengers considered high-risk contacts.

Cruise ship evacuation operation

• ▪The luxury cruise ship left for Spain on May 6, 2026 from the coast of Cape Verde
• ▪The cruise ship anchored near the Spanish island of Tenerife on May 10, 2026
• ▪Spanish passengers disembarking from the cruise ship were transferred onto buses and taken to the local airport
• ▪The final evacuation flight will pick up six people from Australia, New Zealand and other Asian countries
• ▪The World Health Organisation and European Union asked Spain to manage the evacuation of passengers following the detection of a hantavirus outbreak
• ▪Spanish nationals were the first to disembark on small boats in groups of five and be taken to shore
• ▪Countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the US, UK and the Netherlands sent planes to evacuate their citizens aboard the ship
• ▪The final evacuation flight is departing from Australia and is scheduled to arrive on May 11, 2026 afternoon
• ▪Spain began bringing Spanish passengers ashore from the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak on May 10, 2026

Hantavirus outbreak details

• ▪The World Health Organisation said on May 8, 2026 that the hantavirus outbreak posed a minimal risk to the general public

Passenger quarantine protocols

• ▪All passengers on the cruise ship were considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
• ▪Symptomatic passengers may isolate in Tenerife or be medically evacuated home, depending on their condition
• ▪The World Health Organisation recommended a 42-day quarantine period for passengers aboard the cruise ship starting from May 10, 2026
• ▪The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control urged symptomatic passengers to be prioritised for medical assessment and testing on arrival

Tristan da Cunha military airdrop

• ▪The airdrop involved a further 3,000-kilometre flight from Ascension Island to Tristan da Cunha
• ▪The airdrop involved a long-range flight of nearly 6,800 kilometres from RAF Brize Norton in central England to Ascension Island
• ▪British military personnel carried out an airborne operation on May 10, 2026 to deliver urgent medical support for a suspected hantavirus patient on Tristan da Cunha
• ▪The UK Health Security Agency confirmed a suspected hantavirus infection in a British national on Tristan da Cunha on May 8, 2026
• ▪The team parachuting onto Tristan da Cunha consisted of six paratroopers and two military clinicians, all from the 16 Air Assault Brigade
• ▪The team descended from a Royal Air Force A400M transport aircraft in a parachute drop