Spain prepares to isolate over 140 cruise passengers amid hantavirus outbreak

Spanish authorities are ready to receive more than 140 passengers and crew from a cruise ship flagged with a hantavirus outbreak as it approaches Tenerife. The vessel is expected to dock on Sunday and all arrivals will be moved to a completely isolated, cordoned-off area, officials said.

The United States and United Kingdom are dispatching planes to evacuate their nationals. Three deaths have been reported since the outbreak began and five passengers who left the ship are known to be infected.

The cruise operator reports no symptomatic cases onboard, and the World Health Organization considers the risk to the wider public low, noting a flight attendant who briefly encountered an infected passenger tested negative.