Hantavirus: Some passengers on board cruise were ‘facing mental breakdown’

The MV Hondius cruise ship is anchored at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Some passengers on a cruise ship hit by deadly hantaviruswere “facing mental breakdown”, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing it would have been “inhumane” to leave people on board the ship rather than letting it dock in Tenerife, from where people were repatriated to their home countries.