Spanish national evacuated from hantavirus cruise ship tests positive

A Spanish national evacuated from a cruise ship and quarantined in Madrid has tested positive for hantavirus, marking the second case among the group of evacuees in Tenerife. Spain’s Health Ministry said the case is now isolated and stressed it does not change the overall risk level to the public.

Joan Faus/Reuters

26 May 2026 at 03:36:49

Spanish national evacuated from hantavirus cruise ship tests positive

FILE PHOTO: The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, leaves the port of Granadilla de Abona, in Tenerife, Spain, May 11, 2026.

Hannah McKay/Reuters

A Spanish national in quarantine in a Madrid military hospital, who is among those evacuated from a cruise ship earlier this month, has tested positive of hantavirus, Spain's Health Ministry said on Monday.

It is the second positive case among the 14 Spanish nationals who were evacuated to the Spanish island of Tenerife from the luxury liner MV Hondius, which had been carrying around 150 passengers and crew from ⁠23 countries when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2.

After confirming the infection, the Spanish national has been taken to an isolation unit at the Gómez Ulla Hospital, the Health Ministry said on X. It added that the fact that the case was detected among those already in quarantine "does not modify the risk situation" for the overall population.

-Joan Faus/Reuters