Hantavirus cruise ship heads for Spain’s Canary Islands as officials race to trace victims’ contacts | CNN

The hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius on Thursday is en route to Spain’s Canary Islands, as European and African authorities rush to trace anyone who may have come into contact with the virus. The journey from the archipelago nation off Africa’s west coast to the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, is expected to take three and a half days, the Spanish Ministry of Health told CNN Wednesday. The ship’s departure came soon after three people were evacuated from the vessel. Two of them have landed in Amsterdam where they have been received by specialist medical teams, according to the cruise ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions. The plane carrying the third patient had to make an unscheduled landing at Gran Canaria Airport, in the Canary Islands, to refuel after being refused permission to do so in Morocco. A malfunction with the patient’s medical equipment caused further delays, a source at the ministry said. “The patient does not pose a risk to public health and will remain on the runway until the situation is resolved,” the source said. Another passenger previously on board the MV Hondius tested positive for hantavirus and is being treated at a Swiss hospi