Spain confirms new hantavirus case among those quarantined at Madrid hospital

Spain on Monday confirmed a new hantavirus case among individuals under preventive quarantine at a Madrid hospital.

“The positive case has been detected during the periodic diagnostic checks carried out on the contacts under follow-up,” the country’s Health Ministry stated in a post on the US social media company X.

The case corresponds to a close contact identified as part of epidemiological monitoring following the initial detection of the outbreak.

This is the second positive case among 14 Spanish nationals evacuated to Tenerife from the luxury liner MV Hondius. The ship was carrying approximately 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries.

On May 11, Spain’s health minister announced that one Spanish passenger aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship had tested positive for hantavirus shortly after authorities completed the vessel’s evacuation operation.

Authorities said on Monday that the individual had already been under clinical surveillance and isolation since admission, “in accordance with the protocols established by the Early Warning and Rapid Response System.”

Following confirmation via PCR testing, the patient was transferred to the High-Level Isolation Unit at Gomez Ulla Hospital, where they will remain under specialized medical supervision and strict biosafety measures.

“The patient will remain admitted under specialized medical supervision and with the biosafety measures provided for this type of case,” the ministry said.

Health authorities stressed that the detection was made within an already activated control system.

“The detection of the case has occurred within the already activated isolation and control system, so it does not alter the risk situation for the general population,” it added.

Hantavirus is a rare disease usually transmitted through infected rodents or their droppings. However, the strain responsible for this outbreak, the Andes virus, can also spread between humans through prolonged close contact, often in enclosed settings.