Alicante Woman Tests Negative for Hantavirus After MV Hondius Flight Scare

Two Negative Tests — and Reassurance from Health Officials

A 32-year-old woman from Alicante has tested negative for hantavirus on two separate occasions after being admitted to Sant Joan Hospital in Alicante and placed in strict isolation. Health officials from the Valencian Health Department and Spain's Ministry of Health described the results as reassuring.

Both PCR tests were analysed by Spain's National Microbiology Centre in Madrid. A third precautionary test is scheduled within 48 hours as part of the standard monitoring protocol for potential hantavirus contacts.

The Connection to the MV Hondius

The woman was not herself a passenger aboard the MV Hondius — the cruise ship at the centre of an ongoing hantavirus outbreak that has claimed three lives. However, she had shared a flight with a Dutch passenger from the vessel who subsequently died of hantavirus. Given that close contact, she was immediately placed under precautionary monitoring.

She was transported to hospital by ambulance equipped with a negative pressure capsule and housed in a negative pressure isolation room throughout her stay. Her symptoms were mild — a cough and minor respiratory discomfort — and her condition remained stable.

The MV Hondius Docked in Tenerife on May 10

The MV Hondius docked at the Port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife on the morning of May 10, overseen by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who flew personally to the Canary Islands to manage the evacuation. The outbreak, involving the Andes strain of hantavirus — the only known strain capable of human-to-human transmission — has killed three people and infected at least six confirmed passengers.

The Alicante case is a reminder that the ripple effects of the outbreak extend well beyond the ship itself, reaching passengers and contacts across Spain and Europe.

This article is based on reporting from Alicante Today, published May 11, 2026.