Khaberni - Spanish Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, stated that Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands have confirmed they will send aircraft to evacuate their citizens from the tourist ship headed to Spain, which is experiencing an outbreak of the Hanta virus.
Marlaska added that the European Union will send two more planes to transport the rest of the European citizens.
He explained that the United States and the United Kingdom have also confirmed that arrangements are being made to send aircraft and establish emergency plans for non-EU citizens whose countries could not send aircraft for their evacuation.
Meanwhile, the Dutch company operating the tourist ship "MV Hondius" expects it to arrive at the Spanish island of Tenerife early tomorrow morning.
The company "Oceanwide Expeditions," in a statement last Friday, said that "the preparations related to the arrival point, quarantine procedures, examination of all passengers, and subsequent travel plans for them and the affected crew are led by organizations from several countries."
The company continued that no symptoms had appeared on anyone on board the tourist ship until Friday evening.
It added that after the ship docks at the Granadilla port on the island of Tenerife, the authorities will take responsibility for the medical procedures and potentially returning passengers to their countries.
The Spanish Interior Minister confirmed that the operation for receiving and transporting the ship's passengers is ready, saying, "The health authorities will decide how the passengers will be transferred from the ship to the shore."
Virus outbreak developments
Meanwhile, the Spanish Ministry of Health said that a Spanish woman at the Alicante hospital has shown some symptoms of the Hanta virus, after being on the same plane that transported a patient who later died of the virus. She is currently undergoing tests.
The Ministry added that another woman in Barcelona who was on the same plane will undergo tests, confirming that no symptoms have appeared on the Spanish citizens who were aboard the stricken ship.
Last Friday, the World Health Organization announced that 8 people had been infected, 3 of whom died. It stated that 6 cases were confirmed, while two cases were classified as probable.
The organization mentioned that 6 cases were confirmed to be infected with the Andes strain, one of the strains of the Hanta virus, through polymerase chain reaction testing.
The ship was carrying 147 passengers and crew when the disease outbreak was first announced on May 2. Meanwhile, 34 others had already left the ship.
Four patients are still in hospitals in South Africa, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, while the result of a suspected case sent to Germany was negative.
The ship left Cape Verde on May 6 and is currently sailing to the Canary Islands of Spain, where passengers are expected to disembark.
The World Health Organization said the risk to the global population is generally low but medium for the passengers and crew of the ship.
The organization noted that the first case might have been infected before boarding the ship, possibly during travels in Argentina and Chile. It suggested that the spread occurred later aboard the ship.
"Hanta" virus is a group of viruses that are primarily transmitted through rodents, especially mice, where the virus lives in their urine, feces, and saliva.
Humans can be infected when inhaling contaminated particles in the air, or through contact with contaminated surfaces and then touching the nose or mouth. Unlike some other viruses, its transmission between humans is very rare.
