Spain’s health ministry has confirmed that another individual evacuated from a cruise ship affected by hantavirus has contracted the disease.

The infected person, a Spanish national among 14 individuals quarantined at a military hospital in Madrid following their evacuation from the MV Hondius, tested positive for the rat-borne virus on Monday, despite not exhibiting any symptoms.

This brings the total to three passengers who have tested positive for the disease after returning to their respective countries.

On the same day, a symptom-free American and a French citizen were also confirmed to have the virus. Authorities continue to reassure the public that the likelihood of a widespread outbreak remains low.

According to the French government, the French woman’s condition has worsened significantly, and she is now in a serious condition due to hantavirus.

And a second American national on Sunday’s repatriation flight has also shown mild symptoms, according to the US health department, who added that both passengers travelled back in ‘biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution’. 

The cruise ship left Tenerife for the Netherlands on Monday after its final six passengers – four Australians, one Briton and one New Zealander – and some crew members were evacuated. 

Three people – a Dutch couple and a German woman – have died after travelling on the vessel, two of whom were confirmed to have had the virus. 

Persons with protective suits wait in line after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius docked in the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 11

Passengers wave from a coach after disembarking from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Spain, May 11

Medical staff direct some of the last passengers to be evacuated from the MV Hondius on May 11, in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, Spain

More than 90 of the passengers and crew of the Hondius were sent home on Sunday, after being escorted from the ship to shore by personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks.

After all passengers disembarked from the vessel, it sail for the Netherlands late on Monday evening, with 25 crew as well as a doctor and a nurse, and is expected to arrive on May 17.

Those remaining onboard include 17 people from the Philippines, four from the Netherlands (including the two medical staff), four from Ukraine, one from Russia and one from Poland. 

It comes as a Dutch hospital in the city of Nijmegen treating a hantavirus patient quarantined 12 staffers in a preventative measure – after blood and urine were handled without updated and more strict protocols.

‘We will carefully investigate the course of events to learn from this so that it can be prevented in the future,’ said Bertine Lahuis, the chair of the Radboudumc hospital’s executive board. 

Staff will be in isolation for six weeks.

The French woman who tested positive for the virus reported symptoms to doctors onboard the cruise but was told they were likely just anxiety, according to the Spanish health minister. 

She had been suffering from flu-like symptoms but they appeared to be easing, and she did not have a fever, Javier Padilla said.

But despite the deaths of three people who had been onboard the ship, doctors from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Spanish foreign health service dismissed her symptoms as anxiety or stress, he added.

‘They were not thinking that these symptoms were compatible with hantavirus. Why? Because what she was telling [them] was [that she had] an episode of coughing some days ago that had disappeared, and what she was having at that moment was kind of like stress or anxiety or nervousness. So it was not catalogued [as hantavirus],’ Padilla said.

The four other French nationals repatriated from the ship have been ‘immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice’, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said.

Hantaviruses are usually spread by wild rodents, but human transmission of the rare Andes strain is possible through close contact. 

Symptoms can include shortness of breath, fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

The bus carrying the British passengers and crew being repatriated from the MV Hondius makes its way to Arrowe Park Hospital on May 10, in Birkenhead, England

A passenger of the cruise ship MV Hondius sits with his mask off on a bus on the way to the airport, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10

Passengers from the MV Hondius, including one with his mask lowered, wave aboard a military bus after being transferred by boat to the industrial port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife

Seven cases of the Andes hantavirus have now been confirmed among people who were passengers on board the cruise ship, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday. 

Despite reports from the US Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday that one of the 17 repatriated Americans tested mildly positive for the lethal Andes strain of hantavirus, the WHO and Spanish Government disregarded these findings.

The Spanish health ministry said that the US citizen’s tests in Cape Verde gave a result considered by the Americans as a ‘weak positive’, ‘although for us it was not conclusive’, and another that was negative, the ministry said. 

‘The person in question did not show symptoms when they were in Cape Verde. However, the US authorities have decided to treat the case as positive. For that reason, they requested a separate evacuation, which was carried out in a separate boat,’ the ministry added.

This brings the number of confirmed cases to seven, including a Dutch woman and a German woman who died, a Briton hospitalised in South Africa, a Briton hospitalised in the Netherlands, a Dutch man also in the Netherlands, a Swiss national and a French national.

WHO has listed two other ‌suspected cases – the Dutch ⁠man who died before being tested, and the British national on Tristan da Cunha, a remote South Atlantic island where there were no tests available. 

Another British national who was previously hospitalised with hantavirus in South Africa after falling ill on the cruise is ‘clinically improving’, a health ministry spokesperson said. 

The third British man with a confirmed case is 56-year-old Martin Anstee, a former police officer, who is receiving treatment in the Netherlands after working on the cruise ship. 

This is a breaking news story. More to follow. 

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is currently fighting to uphold his leadership as pressure mounts from his party and numerous close aides resign.

The call for his resignation has grown louder, with more than 70 Labor MPs openly urging Starmer to step down. Reports indicate that several parliamentary aides have also resigned in protest.

This internal revolt emerges at a pivotal time for Starmer, whose leadership has been undermined by political and economic challenges.

The immediate catalyst for this upheaval was the severe losses in the local elections on May 8. During these elections, Labor suffered significant setbacks, losing hundreds of council seats across England, ceding long-standing strongholds in Wales, and falling behind competitors in Scotland.

Despite the pressure, Sir Keir Starmer remains determined to retain his position, even as calls for his resignation intensify from within the Labor Party.

A recent YouGov poll also found that around half of Britons believe Starmer should step down.

At the same time, rising U.K. borrowing costs have added to concerns about the government’s economic and public service policies and not easing living costs.

Starmer was also hurt by his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington, the Associated Press reported.

In Scotland, Labor’s difficulties were laid bare as John Swinney secured a decisive victory, dealing a further blow to Starmer’s authority.

President Donald Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump Turnberry golf club in Scotland on July 28, 2025. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

The result drew attention from President Donald Trump, who publicly congratulated Swinney and appeared to take a swipe at Starmer.

Trump and Starmer’s relationship had become strained, with the president saying, “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” blasting the U.K. leader’s reluctance to let U.S. warplanes use its bases after the start of the war against Iran.

Meanwhile, Starmer struck a defiant tone in what has been termed a “reset” speech on Monday, insisting he would not resign.

“I take responsibility for not walking away, not plunging our country into chaos, as the Tories did,” he said.

Sam Carlin, one of the MPs calling for change, said Starmer was “not the right person” to revive the struggling party.

“As a result, I join Labor colleagues from across the United Kingdom in urging the prime minister to step down for the sake of our movement and the people we serve,” he said.

Starmer struck a defiant tone in what has been termed a “reset” speech where he insisted he would not resign. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

“We have made so much progress, but if we remain on our current course, it will not last.”

Former minister Catherine West led efforts to formalize the challenge, calling for a timetable to elect a new leader as early as September.

Three figures are seen as frontrunners to succeed Starmer.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham would need to return to Parliament to mount a bid, while Angela Rayner continues to contend with the fallout from past tax issues.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is viewed as a more immediate contender.

Under Labor rules, a leadership contest can be triggered if sufficient backing coalesces behind a challenger, typically through nominations from MPs and affiliated groups.

If Starmer were to resign, the party would move into a formal contest period, culminating in a vote among members.