AMSTERDAM – Aircraft carrying 28 passengers from the cruise vessel MV Hondius touched down in the Netherlands early Tuesday morning, following a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the ship that has claimed three lives.
The two flights arrived at Eindhoven Airport just after midnight, transporting eight Dutch citizens home. Passengers from other nations will travel onward to their respective countries from the Netherlands, according to officials.
In a separate development, Radboudumc hospital in Nijmegen has placed 12 medical staff members under preventive isolation for six weeks. The quarantine was implemented after personnel handled blood and urine samples without following updated safety protocols when treating a Hondius passenger who was admitted May 7 with hantavirus infection.
Hospital officials emphasized that the risk of transmission remains minimal and patient services continue without disruption.
“We will carefully investigate the course of events to learn from this so that it can be prevented in the future,” stated Bertine Lahuis, chair of the hospital’s executive board.
The Hondius departed for the Netherlands Monday night with 25 crew members, plus medical personnel including a doctor and nurse. All passengers have left the vessel, and ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions expects arrival by May 17.
The outbreak has resulted in three fatalities – a Dutch couple and a German citizen. Hantavirus typically spreads through contact with infected wild rodents, though person-to-person transmission can occur in rare instances involving close contact.
World Health Organization officials reported Monday that seven cases of the Andes strain have been confirmed, with two additional suspected infections. These include one person who died before testing could be completed and another individual on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, where testing capabilities are unavailable.
Among the confirmed cases is a French passenger who tested positive after the ship docked in the Canary Islands Sunday. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu provided an update Monday on her condition.
“Our compatriot who tested positive for Hantavirus is still in intensive care in a stable condition,” he reported.
Spanish health authorities announced Monday evening that one of 14 Spanish nationals under quarantine at a Madrid military hospital has tested positive for the virus. The patient shows no symptoms, and additional testing is underway before final confirmation, according to the Spanish Health Ministry.
