LAS PALMAS, Canary Islands — A large cruise ship carrying more than 2,400 passengers and crew members docked at the port of Las Palmas on Thursday after health authorities ordered three people aboard to be evacuated by air amid a suspected outbreak of hantavirus, a rare but potentially fatal rodent-borne infection that has alarmed public health officials across Europe.
The vessel, the Meridian Star, operated by Atlantic Voyages International, departed Lisbon on April 29 and was three days into a 14-day Atlantic itinerary when crew members reported two passengers presenting with high fever, severe muscle ache, and acute respiratory distress — symptoms consistent with Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. A third individual, a crew member in the ship’s maintenance division, was subsequently evaluated and showed similar clinical signs. All three were airlifted to a hospital on the Spanish mainland for isolation and advanced care.
Spanish health authorities confirmed Thursday that specimens collected from the three patients had been sent to the National Centre for Microbiology in Majadahonda for laboratory analysis. Results were expected within 48 to 72 hours. In the interim, officials said the ship’s remaining occupants were being monitored for symptoms and that a thorough inspection of the vessel’s storage and utility areas had been ordered to identify any evidence of rodent activity.
“We are treating this as a potential hantavirus cluster and taking every necessary precaution,” said Dr. Carmen Roldán, an epidemiologist with the Canary Islands Health Service. “We want to reassure the public that this virus does not spread person-to-person under normal circumstances, and the overall risk to other passengers remains low based on what we know so far.”
Hantavirus is not transmitted between humans in most known strains. It is acquired through direct or indirect contact with infected rodents or their waste products, making the presence of rodents on the vessel the central focus of investigators. Officials from Spain’s food safety and vessel inspection authority boarded the Meridian Star on Thursday afternoon and began a comprehensive review of cargo holds, kitchen storage rooms, and lower-deck mechanical spaces.
Atlantic Voyages International issued a statement expressing concern for the affected individuals and pledging full cooperation with health authorities. The company said it had “zero tolerance for pest-related biosecurity failures” and that the vessel had passed its most recent routine inspection with no deficiencies recorded. It did not specify when that inspection took place. Passenger advocates said the statement raised as many questions as it answered. “If the ship passed inspection, how did this happen?” said Rafael Moreno, a consumer protection attorney based in Madrid who has handled previous maritime health cases. “That’s the question regulators need to answer.”
Passengers who disembarked in Las Palmas described a tense atmosphere aboard the ship in the days before arrival. “There were announcements asking us to report any signs of illness, and you could tell the staff were nervous,” said one traveler from Germany who asked not to be identified. “We didn’t know what was happening until someone said it might be hantavirus. That was frightening.” Several passengers said they had observed what appeared to be rodent droppings in a corridor near the lower-deck laundry facilities, though health officials said they could not confirm that detail pending the formal investigation.
The Meridian Star will remain in Las Palmas under a health hold until inspections are completed and the source of exposure, if confirmed, is identified and remediated. Passengers wishing to disembark permanently were being offered assistance in making alternative travel arrangements. The ship’s remaining scheduled ports of call — including Funchal, Madeira, and Tenerife — have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
European maritime health experts say the incident may reignite calls for more standardized international protocols on rodent control and infectious disease surveillance aboard cruise ships. “These vessels are essentially floating communities,” said Dr. Ingrid Holmberg of the Nordic Institute for Maritime Medicine. “We need harmonized standards, not a patchwork of national inspections that vary widely in rigor. This case, if confirmed, is exactly the scenario those calls for reform were anticipating.”
The International Maritime Health Authority, a body that advises member states on shipboard medical standards, said it was monitoring the situation and would convene an emergency technical working group if laboratory results confirmed hantavirus. The group’s mandate would include reviewing existing guidance on rodent control for ocean-going passenger vessels and assessing whether current protocols are sufficient given the expanding range of rodent-borne pathogens linked to climate shifts. Passengers holding bookings on forthcoming Atlantic Voyages International sailings have begun flooding the company’s customer service lines seeking information, the company acknowledged, adding that it would issue further updates as the investigation progressed.