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🇧🇩 Bangladesh /Health & Science

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From Daily Star · (2h ago) English Critical tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • A cruise ship, the MV Hondius, carrying nearly 150 people is en route to Spain's Canary Islands following a deadly hantavirus outbreak.
  • Three passengers have died, and others are sick with the rare disease, which can spread between people, raising international concern.
  • WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will help coordinate the evacuation, assuring the public that the risk to the general population remains low.

The Daily Star (BD) reports on the impending arrival of the cruise ship MV Hondius in Spain's Canary Islands, a vessel grappling with a severe hantavirus outbreak. The ship, carrying close to 150 individuals, is expected to reach the waters off Tenerife on Sunday, where a large-scale evacuation will commence. This operation is being coordinated with the assistance of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

We classify everybody on board as what we call a high-risk contact

— Maria Van KerkhoveWHO's epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director, explaining the risk assessment for passengers on the MV Hondius.

Tragically, three passengers—a Dutch couple and a German woman—have succumbed to the illness, while several others have fallen ill. The presence of the Andes virus, a strain of hantavirus known to transmit between humans, has heightened international alarm. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness, has classified everyone on board as a "high-risk contact." However, she emphasized that the risk to the broader public and the residents of the Canary Islands is minimal.

I need you to hear me clearly

— Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusWHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressing the people of Tenerife in an open letter.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who arrived in Spain on Saturday, echoed this sentiment, expressing confidence in the operation's success and thanking the people of Tenerife for their "solidarity." He stressed that "This is not another Covid." Despite the health crisis, daily life in Tenerife appears to be proceeding with a degree of normalcy, though authorities have implemented strict measures. The ship will remain offshore while passengers are screened and evacuated, with regional authorities refusing to allow it to dock. Passengers will be transferred directly to aircraft for their return home, grouped by nationality, ensuring no direct contact with the local population.

This is not another Covid.

— Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusWHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, reassuring the public about the nature of the hantavirus outbreak.
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Originally published by Daily Star. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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