Various countries are trying to evacuate people from the cruise ship in Spain, the epicenter of the hantavirus, which has killed 3 people and infected 8 so far.

Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Granda-Marlaska announced that repatriation flights have been organized to Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands for people on a cruise ship in Spain, the epicenter of the hantavirus outbreak. 

Three passengers on the MV Hondius, a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman, have died, bringing the total number of cases to 8. The 2 Indian crew members on the MV Hondius luxury ship are asymptomatic. More details on the crew's health status will be available when the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain, on May 11.

"Others have contracted a rare disease that is usually spread by rodents. It is a dangerous virus, but it only affects the person who is actually infected, and the risk to the general public is very low," a WHO spokesman told reporters. The WHO said six of the eight suspected cases of the virus had been confirmed so far. There are no remaining suspected cases on the ship. The United States is among the countries with 12 citizens who left the ship on April 24 from the British island of St. Helena. A picture emerging from the MV Hondius shows that when one person falls ill, "in some cases, even those who shared cabins, both people are not infected," he added.

The ship will arrive in Tenerife tomorrow, where the passengers will be evacuated and taken to their home countries. Mr. Granda-Marlaska said the European Union was sending two more flights to carry the remaining European citizens. He added that the US and UK had confirmed that they had flights and contingency plans in place for citizens of non-EU countries that could not be repatriated by air.

Earlier, acting Chief Medical Officer Professor Mary Horgan said intensive work had been carried out to ensure everything was in place for the safe quarantine of Irish travellers. The Irish government is finalising plans to send a plane to Spain in the coming days to evacuate two Irish citizens. 

The move, led by the Department of Defence, the Department of Health and the HSE, will be subject to strict evacuation and isolation rules. Professor Horgan said the current quarantine period is 45 days, but Irish authorities will closely monitor the guidelines of the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC).

The Andes virus, the only hantavirus strain that can be transmitted from person to person, has been confirmed to have tested positive, causing international concern. This has led to various countries refraining from docking the ship. "There is currently no direct drug or vaccination for it, but research is underway at several universities, particularly at the University of Oxford, to test vaccines in this area."