World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has released a statement regarding hantavirus.
Addressing the people of Tenerife, he clearly said, “But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now.”
“The virus aboard the MV Hondius is the Andes strain of hantavirus. It is serious. Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families. The risk to you, living your daily life in Tenerife, is low. This is the WHO’s assessment, and we do not make it lightly”, he added.
However, he said, “right now, there are no symptomatic passengers on board”, adding that, “A WHO expert is on that ship. Medical supplies are in place. Spain’s authorities have prepared a careful, step-by-step plan: passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries. You will not encounter them. Your families will not encounter them.”
He stressed that there is no immediate threat, while noting that when people hear the word “outbreak” and see a ship sailing toward their shores, memories resurface that none of us have fully put to rest. “The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment”, he added.
About the ship, the WHO’s director said, “The ship’s captain, Jan Dobrogowski, crew and the company operating the vessel have shown exemplary collaboration at this challenging time. On behalf of the World Health Organisation, and on behalf of those passengers and their families around the world, I thank the people of Tenerife and everyone else involved.”
Hantavirus outbreak on a ship
A hantavirus outbreak has been reported on a Dutch-flagged vessel carrying around 150 people, which is expected to arrive at Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday.
Earlier, Dr Tedros announced his arrival in Spain and said that he would join government officials to oversee the disembarkation of a hantavirus-hit cruise ship in the Canary Islands.
I arrived in #Spain, where I will join senior government officials in a mission to Tenerife to oversee safe disembarkation of the passengers, crew members and health experts from MV Hondius cruise ship.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 9, 2026
Meanwhile, I am in direct communication with captain Jan Dobrogowski and… pic.twitter.com/W4pI9dlQHg
The only hantavirus strain that can transmit from person to person, Andes virus, has been confirmed among those who have tested positive.
So far, a Dutch husband, wife and a German woman have lost their lives
