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.