Five European Countries Evacuate Nationals from Cruise Ship Hit by Hantavirus

Five European countries announced sending planes to evacuate their nationals from a cruise ship heading to Spain, which is witnessing an outbreak of Hantavirus. The Spanish Minister of Interior confirmed that Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands sent planes to transport their nationals from the ship, while the European Union will send two additional planes to evacuate the remaining European citizens. He indicated that the United States and Britain are also working on preparing emergency plans and sending planes to transport citizens from outside the European Union. For its part, the World Health Organization announced the registration of eight Hantavirus infections linked to the cruise ship, including three deaths, clarifying that six cases were confirmed to be infected with the Andes strain of the virus through polymerase chain reaction testing. The ship was carrying 147 passengers and crew members when the disease outbreak was first reported on the second of May.