Irish passengers from hantavirus-hit ship complete first night of isolation, after Government-jet evacuation flight from Tenerife

"The MV Hondius, which is at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak, docked in Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Sunday morning. Spanish authorities hd been conducting health checks and disembarking passengers. The Irish aircraft flew to and from the island from Baldonnel Aerodrome on Sunday. Flight-tracking websites showed the plane left Tenerife for Ireland at around 5.40pm and landed back at the military air base in west Co Dublin shortly after 9pm. Two ambulances were seen leaving the airport just before 9.30pm."

"The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from the boat from Sunday. Planes for the Spanish and French nationals had departed by 1130 GMT. Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, Turkey, Ireland, and the United States were listed by Spanish health minister Monica Garcia as the next countries to evacuate their citizens, with the Dutch plane also due to take Germans, Belgians and Greeks."

"Hantavirus, which is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person, was first detected on May 2, 21 days after the first passenger died, by South African health officials testing a British man who was in intensive care. Two other former passengers have died since."

"The luxury cruise ship left for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers after the hantavirus outbreak was detected. The agency said the first case may have been infected before boar"

The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife in the Canary Islands as Spanish authorities conducted health checks and disembarked passengers. An Irish aircraft flew to and from Baldonnel Aerodrome, leaving Tenerife around 5:40pm and landing back at the military air base in west Co Dublin shortly after 9pm, with two ambulances leaving the airport just before 9:30pm. The World Health Organisation recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from the boat starting Sunday. Planes carrying Spanish and French nationals departed by 11:30 GMT, and additional countries were listed for further evacuations. Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents, with rare person-to-person transmission, and was first detected on May 2 after a British man was tested while in intensive care.

Read at Irish Independent