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The WHO chief is due to arrive in Tenerife on Saturday as Spain prepares to evacuate passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius following a hantavirus outbreak that has killed three people and triggered international health monitoring.
Tedros will join Spanish officials at a command center overseeing the operation ahead of the ship’s expected arrival near the Canary Islands on Sunday.
Three passengers, a Dutch couple and a German woman, have died, while several others tested positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus, the only known variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
The Dutch-flagged ship, carrying around 150 people, is due to reach waters off Tenerife on Sunday. Authorities said passengers will be transferred to shore via smaller vessels before being flown to their home countries under strict medical supervision.
The WHO said the outbreak poses a low risk to the wider public, noting that the virus does not spread easily between people.
Health authorities across several countries are tracing passengers and airline contacts linked to the outbreak.
A KLM flight attendant who came into contact with an infected traveler later tested negative for the virus.
Spanish officials are also monitoring a woman in eastern Spain who developed symptoms after sitting near an infected passenger on a flight from Johannesburg.
The outbreak began during a transatlantic expedition cruise that departed Ushuaia, Argentina, in April. Several infected passengers and crew members were evacuated earlier this week for treatment in Europe and South Africa.
Passengers still onboard said the situation had calmed after doctors joined the vessel and safety measures, including mask-wearing and distancing, were introduced.
The United States said it was arranging evacuation flights for American citizens on board, while dock workers in Tenerife staged protests over the ship’s arrival despite assurances from Spanish authorities that strict containment measures are in place.
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