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  "path": "/health/hantavirus-warning-number-of-rat-virus-cases-latest",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-12T19:47:25.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "were removed from the vessel",
    "Scientists set critical 'date to watch' for new wave of hantavirus spread - as woman in 'serious' condition after testing positive for disease",
    "British army launches daring parachute mission to treat rat-virus victims on remote island",
    "Palestine Action activists behind £1MILLION defence firm raid could be sentenced as 'terrorists'",
    "American",
    "Tenerife to Manchester Airport",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
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  "textContent": "\n\n\nThe World Health Organization's director-general has warned more hantavirus infections are anticipated following the deadly outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.\n\nSpeaking in Madrid today alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Tedros Ghebreyesus expressed confidence further positive tests would emerge. \"There will probably be more cases,\" Dr Ghebreyesus stated.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe outbreak has killed three lives so far, a Dutch couple and a German woman, after the vessel embarked on a 35-day Atlantic voyage. The initial passenger became unwell on April 11.\n\nNine infections have now been confirmed, with two additional suspected cases under investigation.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDespite warning of further cases, the WHO chief sought to calm fears about a wider epidemic. He described the current phase of operations as successful and maintained that the outbreak poses a \"low risk\" to global health.\n\nThe Spanish prime minister hailed the evacuation as \"a success of which Spaniards should feel proud\" during the joint press conference in the capital.\n\nAll 87 passengers and 35 crew members were removed from the vessel while it remained anchored off Tenerife's coast over Sunday and Monday. The ship subsequently departed for Rotterdam on Monday evening.\n\nHowever, the operation has attracted criticism from regional authorities. Fernando Clavijo, who leads the Canary Islands government, had opposed the cruise ship's arrival at the island.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe accused Madrid of failing to keep infected passengers separate from others during the disembarkation and repatriation process. \"This shows we were right to demand PCR testing of the passengers before evacuation,\" Mr Clavijo said.\n\nHealth authorities across the globe are now grappling with an expanding caseload.\n\nIn Italy, medical staff are monitoring a 25-year-old man displaying symptoms after he sat beside the deceased Dutch woman on a flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam.\n\nShe had been forced to leave that aircraft due to severe illness.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Scientists set critical 'date to watch' for new wave of hantavirus spread - as woman in 'serious' condition after testing positive for disease\n  * British army launches daring parachute mission to treat rat-virus victims on remote island\n  * Palestine Action activists behind £1MILLION defence firm raid could be sentenced as 'terrorists'\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nA French woman who developed a fever during Sunday's repatriation flight is now in a \"critical condition\" at Bichat hospital in Paris.\n\nBoth an American and French national have returned positive tests after travelling home.\n\nSpanish health officials confirmed on Monday one passenger quarantined at a Madrid military hospital had provisionally tested positive.\n\nIn the Netherlands, 12 healthcare workers at Radboud University Hospital in Nijmegen face quarantine after failing to follow strict protocols while treating an infected MV Hondius passenger.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe hospital acknowledged only standard protective measures were used during blood collection and urine processing.\n\nAT least 20 British passengers and crew members from the stricken cruise ship commenced a 72-hour isolation period at Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral on Sunday evening.\n\nThey had been flown from Tenerife to Manchester Airport before being transferred to an accommodation block at the facility.\n\nTwo other British nationals with confirmed hantavirus infections are currently receiving medical care abroad — one in the Netherlands and another in South Africa.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe Andes strain responsible for this outbreak is particularly concerning as it represents the only known hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission.\n\nApproximately 40 different hantaviruses have been identified worldwide, with the disease typically spreading through contact with rodent urine, droppings or saliva and potentially causing haemorrhagic fever.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Urgent hantavirus warning issued as number of rat-virus cases set to surge"
}