Spanish Health Ministry Rules Out Hantavirus Transmission from MV Hondius Rats. The Spanish Health Ministry has dismissed concerns about local rodents catching hantavirus from the MV Hondius. Experts confirmed the virus carrier is not found in Europe. Inspections on board found no rodents.
Spanish health authorities have officially ruled out the possibility of hantavirus transmission from rats that may have been aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius to local rodents in the country's ports. The urgent clarification was prompted by public statements from the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, who, on the eve of the ship’s arrival, expressed concerns for residents’ safety and suggested that ship rats might be able to swim ashore. It was later revealed that these concerns were based on information obtained from artificial intelligence.
Onboard inspection and expert conclusions
In response to the public reaction, the Ministry of Health prepared a special report highlighting that the natural reservoir of the Andes strain of hantavirus is exclusively the South American wild rodent species Oligoryzomys longicaudatus, which is not found in Europe or in port areas. This rodent lives only in the forests of Chile and southern Argentina, and is absent from cities and coastal zones. According to the report, even if such a mouse were somehow present on the ship, it would not survive or spread under European conditions. In addition, specialists who boarded the MV Hondius found no signs of rodents, and the vessel’s sanitary condition was deemed satisfactory.
Reaction of the scientific community
Argentinian physiology professor Daniel Antenucci told Spanish media that Oligoryzomys longicaudatus is not a city rat, but a wild mouse that prefers natural landscapes and is not capable of swimming for long periods. According to him, the likelihood of such an animal being on a cruise ship is extremely low. The Health Ministry’s report also emphasizes that rats, even if present on board, are not carriers of the Andes hantavirus, and the virus itself cannot be transmitted between different rodent species in Europe.
Theories on the origin of the outbreak
Health authorities consider it most likely that the hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius was caused by some passengers coming into contact with the virus while in Argentina before boarding the vessel. Person-to-person transmission could then have occurred through close contact, as has been documented in South America. Since anti-epidemic measures were put in place, no new cases have been reported. If infected rodents had actually been on board, the outbreak would have continued even after the ship’s arrival.
No risk to local rodents
Even in a theoretical scenario, if a wild South American mouse were to end up on a ship and reach the Spanish shore, local rodents would not become infected. There are simply no species in Spain capable of serving as a reservoir for this virus strain. Ecologists and epidemiologists emphasize: hantavirus ecology is closely linked to specific animal species, and such carriers are absent in Europe. The Ministry of Health report notes that hundreds of ships from Argentina and Chile enter European ports every year, but not a single transmission of hantavirus has been recorded on European territory.
Previously, the situation with the MV Hondius had already sparked disputes between regional and federal authorities. As detailed in the report on the conflict over sanitary measures in the Canary Islands, the debate over the risk of rodent-borne infection nearly disrupted the international operation.
According to the Ministry of Health, no outbreaks of hantavirus have been registered in Spain, and the cases reported in Europe are linked to other strains unrelated to the Andes virus. In the near future, health services will continue to monitor MV Hondius passengers and crew, as well as strengthen disinfection measures during disembarkation.
