Cruise ship at center of hantavirus outbreak arrives at Spain's Tenerife

Summary: Passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are finally heading home after a scary hantavirus outbreak. The ship docked in the Canary Islands, where workers in full hazmat suits helped travelers get off. Three people have died, and a few others tested positive, including one American who was flown to a special hospital in Nebraska.

Hantavirus usually spreads through mouse droppings, but this specific type (the Andes virus) might spread between people in rare cases. Health experts say the public shouldn't panic because it's not highly contagious like COVID-19. Still, passengers had to leave their luggage behind and face weeks of quarantine just to be safe. The situation was so serious that British medics even had to parachute onto a remote island to treat one suspected patient!

Source: AP News URL: apnews.com/article/hantavirus-cruise-ship-hondius-tenerife-1c43c66d2b0555cf946d9e57fc65f1d4 (opens in new tab)