The cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla de Abona after being affected by a hantavirus outbreak, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10, 2026. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
A Greek citizen, passenger on the cruise ship MV Hondius where a deadly outbreak of Hantavirus has occurred, is expected in Athens later Sunday.
The Greek citizen, who has not shown symptoms of the disease, will nonetheless be quarantined for 45 days in a specially prepared negative-pressure chamber at Athens’ Attikon University Hospital, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The World Health Organization has recommended a 42-day quarantine period stating MV Hondius passengers, whose evacuation started Sunday.
A Dutch aircraft will take the Greek passenger, alongside others, from Tenerife, in Spain’s Canary Islands, to Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. A special Hellenic Air Force flight will take him to the Elefsina air base, west of Athens, where he will be picked up by an ambulance.
A Rescue Service physician and a nurse, as well as the President of the Public Health Organization’s Scientific Council, will accompany the man in the flight from Eindhoven to Elefsina, the ministry said.
Medical experts agree that transmission of Hantavirus to humans is difficult and rerquires prolonged exposure to infected rodents’ waste, saliva or blood.