Canadians on virus-stricken ship set to disembark

Canadians on board the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship will soon begin disembarking after the vessel docked this morning at the port city of Tenerife.

The MV Hondius arrived just after 6 a.m., local time, in the Canary Islands, Spain.

The ship’s owner, Oceanwide Expeditions, has said that several international groups, including the World Health Organization, will screen the four Canadians and roughly 130 other asymptomatic passengers.

Global Affairs Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada have not yet commented on the disembarkment or next steps for the Canadian travellers.

Several Canadians have been linked to the hantavirus outbreak, which hit the ship during its voyage from Argentina to Antarctica sometime after April 1, following several stops at isolated islands in the South Atlantic.

Three non-Canadian passengers have died, and five others, who have already left the ship, are infected with hantavirus.