Filipino crew from hantavirus-stricken Hondius begins 42-day quarantine in Netherlands
Evacuated Filipino crew members from the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship entered 42 days of quarantine in the Netherlands on Tuesday ahead of their repatriation to the Philippines, Dutch authorities confirmed as the vessel headed to Rotterdam for disinfection.
At the same time, 12 workers at Radboudumc university medical center in Nijmegen began the same six-week precautionary quarantines after the hospital acknowledged it did not follow strict international protocols when handling blood samples and urine from an infected patient evacuated from the ship.
The Hondius, with 26 remaining crew aboard, left Tenerife on Monday night and is expected to arrive in Rotterdam in about six days. The final two evacuation flights carrying 28 people landed overnight at Eindhoven Airport.
A Spanish passenger tested positive for hantavirus after evacuation and is quarantined in a military hospital in Madrid. The person shows no symptoms and is reportedly in good condition. The other 13 in the same facility tested negative.
The Radboudumc patient — one of three medically evacuated from the ship to the Netherlands last week — had blood drawn and processed with standard procedures rather than the stricter international protocols required for hantavirus. Updated international regulations were also not followed in the disposal of the patient’s urine, the hospital said.
Radboudumc Executive Board Chair Bertine Lahuis said: “Despite the fact that the chance of actual infection is very small, these measures have a significant impact on all those involved. We regret that this has happened at our university medical center. We will carefully investigate the course of events to learn from this and to prevent it from happening in the future.”
Three people have died from the outbreak on the Dutch-flagged ship: a Dutch couple from Friesland and a German woman. At least seven people have tested positive, with several others suspected.
Two evacuation flights from Tenerife landed at Eindhoven Airport early Tuesday. The first, a Dutch-operated flight, carried 22 crew members from six nationalities, including one Dutch national. The second, organized by Australia, carried six passengers — Australians, a New Zealander and a Briton.
The six passengers bound for Australia will spend no more than 48 hours in the Netherlands before continuing home. Australian Health Minister Mark Butler called the repatriation “complex” because of the distance.
Filipino media, including Rappler and ABS-CBN, reported that the Filipino evacuees will complete their 42-day quarantine in the Netherlands before repatriation. Remaining Filipino crew members still aboard the Hondius will also enter quarantine upon arrival in the Netherlands.
In Belgium, blood tests for two evacuated passengers taken to Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen were “preliminary inconclusive.” Both are doing well with no symptoms and will undergo further testing Tuesday. If cleared, they will also go home for six weeks of quarantine.
