health
Dozens of people from cruise ship struck by hantavirus leave Tenerife
Britons among passengers and crew taken off vessel and put on flights to 10 countries as part of two-day operation
TL;DR
- A cruise ship with 146 people onboard was at the center of a hantavirus outbreak in Tenerife.
- Dozens of passengers and crew, including British nationals, were evacuated and flown to their home countries.
- British passengers were placed in hospital quarantine in Merseyside upon arrival in the UK.
- The virus, transmitted through very close contact, can cause flu-like symptoms, respiratory arrest, and death.
- The Spanish government and WHO stated that evacuated passengers would not come into contact with people in Tenerife.
- The ship had arrived in the Canary Islands after being stranded off the coast of Cape Verde due to fears of a wider outbreak.