Spanish Government is coordinating with the WHO, the EU, and the countries involved in the response to the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius

The Diplomat The Spanish Ministry of Health has coordinated with the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Commission, the countries involved, and the Government of the Canary Islands to respond to the hantavirus outbreak detected on the MV Hondius, a Dutch-registered vessel that had sailed from Argentina and was initially bound for Cape Verde after a stop in South Africa. Approximately 150 people of 23 different nationalities are on board, including 14 Spanish citizens. This Tuesday, the WHO, in coordination with the European Union, requested that the Spanish Government receive the vessel in the Canary Islands in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles. The ship will arrive in the archipelago this week at a port yet to be determined. Once there, the crew and passengers will be properly examined, treated, and then transferred to their respective countries. In a joint press conference with Mónica García and the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, following the follow-up meeting to address the WHO's request to the Government (in which, among others, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, participated), the Minister of Health, Mónica García, reported this Wednesday that her department became aware of the situation last week through international health alert and coordination channels. After being informed, the Ministry immediately activated joint monitoring with the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Commission, the countries involved, and the Government of the Canary Islands. García also confirmed that she has been in continuous contact with the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo. On Tuesday afternoon, according to the minister, a meeting was held between the technical teams of the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), in which it was agreed to send a team of international epidemiologists to review the health situation of the ship in Cape Verde. Subsequently, the WHO warned that Cape Verde currently lacks the necessary capacity to independently carry out all the epidemiological, environmental, and public health assessments required to manage a health incident of this nature. Given this situation, the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, formally requested the collaboration of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, to facilitate the arrival of the MV Hondius and to implement the necessary health measures under international coordination. According to the minister, Spain's actions are based on both humanitarian principles and international legal obligations under the WHO's International Health Regulations, to which Spain is a State Party. In this regard, she recalled that Articles 13 and 44 of the Regulation establish the duty of technical and logistical cooperation between countries in the event of international health emergencies, while Articles 27 and 28 expressly regulate the management of infection situations on board international means of transport. She also pointed out that these treaties form part of the Spanish legal system and are fully binding on public administrations. The Minister of Health explained that the WHO requested the ship go to the Canary Islands and that Spain, the country with the nearest port, handle the situation under the International Health Regulations. "The WHO considers that Spain meets the conditions for disembarkation under safe and health-protecting conditions, not only minimizing the risk to passengers and crew, but also protecting public health against this infection." The Minister also announced that the three symptomatic individuals on board are being evacuated from Cape Verde to the Netherlands and that "all those remaining on the ship are asymptomatic passengers." Once the ship arrives in the Canary Islands, she explained, "all foreign passengers will be repatriated, unless their medical condition prevents it, through a European Civil Protection mechanism led by the European Commission, which has already been activated, and which will have all the necessary guarantees." Regarding the 14 Spaniards on board, García noted that "they will be examined upon arrival in the Canary Islands and will be transferred by military plane to the Torrejón Air Base and from there to the Gómez Ulla Military Hospital in Madrid, where they will receive care and remain in quarantine for as long as clinical protocols require." For his part, the Minister of the Interior stated that Spain has accepted the WHO's proposal for the Canary Islands to be the ship's destination "for humanitarian reasons" and for "legal" reasons, and because "we have the means to respond to this type of situation with the resources of our country, but also those of the European Union." Marlaska also asserted that it was the European Union that urged Spain to take this action. "To open the emergency we have declared and to activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism." "From now on, various meetings will be held with all the countries concerned to carry out the repatriation of all passengers and crew in accordance with the appropriate health and logistical guidelines," he added. Relax The Minister sought to reassure the public, emphasizing that the risk to the general population remains very low. Although hantavirus can be highly lethal in certain severe clinical forms, especially respiratory ones, the Ministry explained that the specific context of the outbreak—a vessel with close and prolonged contact—significantly increases the likelihood of human-to-human transmission. International health authorities have also identified the variant involved as Andean hantavirus, one of the few variants in which human-to-human transmission has been documented. However, both the WHO and the ECDC agree that this type of transmission remains extremely rare and requires very close and prolonged contact, generally with symptomatic individuals. For her part, Carmen Fúnez, Deputy Secretary of Health and Social Policy for the People's Party, warned via social media that, “in a health crisis, clarity is essential.” “The confusion surrounding hantavirus is unacceptable,” she continued. “We share the Government's need to convey calm, but we demand concrete and constant information,” she stated. “Our support goes out to those affected, especially the 14 Spaniards,” she concluded.

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