Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship prompts tracing effort in Canary Islands case

A cruise ship linked to a hantavirus outbreak is heading for the Spanish Canary Islands with 140 passengers on board, as health officials try to trace possible further spread.

The case has drawn renewed attention after a second passenger tested positive in a Dutch hospital.

The vessel was reported to be carrying passengers towards the islands on Thursday.

It emerged that dozens of passengers had disembarked nearly two weeks after a man died on board.

The confirmed death and the later positive test have raised concern among health professionals about where the virus came from and whether it may have spread after people left the ship.

The situation is being monitored while tracing efforts continue.

The outbreak matters because hantavirus can be difficult to track once passengers have dispersed across different locations.

In this case, the timing of the disembarkation has made it harder to establish who may have been exposed and when.

The available information indicates that the ship remains under scrutiny as it approaches the Canary Islands.

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