Hondius is heading for the Canary Island of Tenerife, where the remaining passengers and crew will be taken ashore in smaller boats. When the ship arrives at the island - probably on Sunday - everyone on board will be flown to their respective home countries, El País reported.
World Health Organization (WHO) Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is traveling to the Canary Islands to assist Spanish authorities, Spain announced late Friday.
Cases ruled out
Two British citizens have been confirmed infected with hantavirus, but several suspected cases have been ruled out.
One confirmed Briton is a man who was flown to South Africa on April 27 and admitted to intensive care. The other is a man who was evacuated from Hondius on Wednesday and is receiving treatment in the Netherlands, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said .
A third Briton, who got off the ship in Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic, is also being investigated.
Three people have died so far in the outbreak: an elderly Dutch couple and a German woman who died at sea in early May. They are all believed to have been infected with Andes virus, the most dangerous variant of hantavirus and the only one believed to be transmissible between humans.
The Dutch couple had been birdwatching in Patagonia in southern Argentina. Argentine health authorities questioned reports that they had been infected there, partly because the incubation period did not match the couple's travel times.
Classified as a general hazard
A Danish airline passenger investigated by Danish authorities on Friday tested negative. The Danish National Board of Health classifies the virus as a general hazard, so special infection control measures can be implemented if necessary.
Two Finns who are said to have been on the same plane are to be tested, Svenska Yle reports. The two have no symptoms.
A flight attendant who was previously feared to be infected tested negative, RTL Nederland reported on Friday.
Hantavirus infections are caused by around 35 different closely related variants of hantavirus that have been reported worldwide.
Hantavirus infection is a zoonosis, meaning a disease that can be transmitted between animals and humans. In one variant, the Andes virus, which is mainly found in South America, transmission between humans has also been demonstrated.
In Sweden, only the Puumala virus variant, which causes the disease bat fever, is found.
Each hantavirus has a specific rodent species as its host. Hantavirus does not normally cause disease in rodents, but they can carry the virus for a long time. Viruses are excreted in the urine, feces, and saliva of infected rodents.
Depending on the type of hantavirus, infections can range from completely asymptomatic to very severe forms of hemorrhagic fever, or acute pulmonary syndrome with a high mortality rate.
Source: Public Health Agency of Sweden
