Indian Crew Safe on Hantavirus-Hit MV Hondius Ship in Spain

The Embassy said that the Ambassador is in close contact with the Spanish authorities and the two Indian nationals (crew members) and is regularly monitoring the situation to assure the well-being and safety of the Indian nationals.

In a press statement, the Indian Embassy in Madrid said that the Dutch-flagged vessel MV Hondius, with around 150 individuals, including two Indian nationals, arrived in Spain on Sunday.

In the context of the Hantavirus outbreak, the ship anchored off the coast of the Canary Islands of Spain. The passengers onboard disembarked from the ship in accordance with the protocol established by the WHO and the Spanish authorities.

As per the Embassy, the Indian nationals are healthy and that they have been evacuated to the Netherlands, where they will be quarantined as per the health safety protocols.

"The 02 Indian nationals are healthy and asymptomatic. As informed by the Spanish National Center for Emergency Monitoring and Coordination (CENEM), the 02 Indian nationals who were travelling as crew members, have been evacuated to the Netherlands where they will be quarantined as per relevant health safety protocol," it said.

Meanwhile, in a post on X, the World Health Organisation shared a technical note for the disembarkation and onward management of passengers and crew, and the management of contacts in the context of the Hantavirus.

It advised the member states in a statement to "Implement a risk-based approach to the identification, monitoring, and management of contacts of probable or confirmed Andes virus (ANDV) cases from the MV Hondius cruise ship and related to the event on that cruise ship. ANDV has been associated with limited human-to-human transmission, usually associated with close and prolonged contact."

A total of eight Hantavirus cases, including three deaths (case fatality ratio 38 per cent), were reported as of Friday (May 8). Six cases were laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus infections, with all identified as Andes virus (ANDV), according to a statement from the World Health Organization (WHO).

In India, amid concerns triggered by reports of a hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship carrying two Indian crew members, along with other passengers, medical experts on Friday sought to allay fears, stating that there is no cause for panic and no pandemic threat to India.

While speaking to ANI, Dr Naveen Kumar, Director of ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, stated that the reported infections among Indian nationals appear to be isolated imported cases and do not indicate any community spread within India.

"At present, the reported infections among Indian nationals aboard a cruise ship appear to be isolated imported cases and do not indicate community spread in India. Since hantavirus transmission is primarily rodent-borne and not easily spread between humans, the immediate public health risk remains low," he added.

Dr Kumar further explained the transmission pattern of the virus and clarified that human-to-human spread is extremely uncommon.

- ANI