World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius is not another COVID pandemic.

The reassurance comes as Spanish health officials prepare for the vessel's arrival, aiming to prevent public panic by highlighting the different transmission risks of hantavirus compared to respiratory viruses.

Tedros delivered the message on Saturday, May 9, as the ship sailed toward the Port of Granadilla on the Spanish island of Tenerife. He said the situation was under control and that there were no symptomatic passengers currently aboard. The outbreak began several weeks [4] ago while the vessel was crossing the Atlantic after departing Argentina.

Three people have died [1] due to the outbreak. Additionally, five infected passengers [2] had already disembarked the vessel before its current approach to Spain. Reports on the remaining sick passengers vary, with some sources citing at least three [3] additional people reported sick on board, while others state the outbreak sickened six passengers and crew members [3].

“This is not another COVID,” Tedros said.

Spanish Health Minister Carolina Pérez said, “We are monitoring the situation closely and there is no cause for alarm.”

Medical experts noted that the virus does not spread between humans. Dr. Elena Martínez, a medical epidemiologist, said, “Hantavirus is transmitted through rodent droppings, not from person to person, so the public health response is different from COVID-19.”

Spanish authorities and the WHO are coordinating to ensure containment measures remain in place as the ship arrives later this week.

““This is not another COVID.””

The WHO's rapid intervention focuses on the biological distinction between zoonotic diseases and contagious respiratory viruses. Because hantavirus is not transmitted person-to-person, the risk of a community outbreak in Tenerife is negligible, provided the environmental source on the ship is managed. The emphasis on 'not another COVID' serves to preempt the social and economic disruptions associated with pandemic-era lockdowns.