Three Turkish citizens evacuated from the MV Hondius, a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, were brought to İstanbul overnight and put in quarantine at their homes as a precaution, the pro-government A Haber reported on Monday.
The three were evacuated after the ship docked in Spain’s Canary Islands, where passengers began disembarking Sunday under strict health protocols before being put on repatriation flights by nationality.
The return and quarantine of the Turkish citizens were carried out under the coordination of Turkey’s Health Ministry.
None of the three have shown symptoms so far, but they will be kept under close monitoring because of the possibility they came into contact with infected people on the ship or consumed contaminated food, according to A Haber.
The MV Hondius, a Dutch-operated expedition cruise ship that departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1, became the focus of an international health operation after several passengers developed hantavirus, a rare disease usually transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings or saliva.
At least three passengers — a Dutch couple and a German woman — have died in the outbreak, while several others have tested positive or are suspected of having been infected.
The World Health Organization said last week eight cases had been reported, including the three deaths, and that five of the eight had been confirmed as hantavirus.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control later said that as of May 10, six cases had been confirmed and two were probable.
The outbreak has drawn particular concern because patients linked to the ship tested positive for the Andes strain, the only known hantavirus strain capable of limited human-to-human transmission through close and prolonged contact.
The WHO has assessed the overall public health risk as low but said additional cases could be detected because of the virus’s incubation period.
After the ship arrived at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, passengers and crew were checked for symptoms and evacuated in stages, with Spanish nationals disembarking first and later being transferred to Madrid.
French, British, American and other passengers were also flown home under strict protocols.
Video released by Spain’s defense ministry showed protective measures on evacuation flights, including plastic-wrapped surfaces and crew members wearing protective gear.
The operation was supervised by Spanish health and interior officials and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, according to international media reports.
The Turkish citizens’ return follows earlier concern in Turkey over Turkish nationals who had been aboard or linked to the ship, including travel vlogger Ruhi Çenet, his cameraman, birdwatcher and photographer Emin Yoğurtçuoğlu and Yoğurtçuoğlu’s friend Melike Güner.
Çenet and his cameraman disembarked from the MV Hondius in Saint Helena on April 24 and later returned to İstanbul.
Çenet previously told Agence France-Presse that passengers had initially been told a death on board was due to natural causes and that the illness was not infectious.
He said normal life continued on the ship afterward, with passengers eating together and not wearing masks, prompting him and his cameraman to isolate themselves as a precaution after returning to Turkey.
Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said Friday that no positive hantavirus cases had been detected in Turkey and urged the public to rely on official statements.
“No positive case has yet been detected in our country,” the Health Ministry said at the time, adding that unverified information circulating among the public should be treated with caution.
The MV Hondius had been under international health monitoring after being quarantined off Cape Verde.