Cruise ship stranded at sea as hantavirus outbreak sparks docking dispute

There's a new twist this morning in the cruise ship virus outbreak

Spain says it will take the ship, but officials in the Canary Islands are now pushing back

Nearly 150 passengers and crew, including 17 Americans, remain on that ship, the MV Hondias

after a hantavirus cluster killed three people and sickened others. Health officials have identified seven cases so far, two confirmed and five suspected

including one person still in critical condition. Spain's central government says the ship can head to the Canary Islands for treatment and a full investigation

but the region's president is opposing that plan, saying there's not enough information to guarantee public safety

The World Health Organization says some limited human-to-human spread may have happened

but emphasizes the risk to the broader public is low. Three people are now being medically evacuated, and once that's complete

the ship is expected to sail to the Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities will take over

conduct a full investigation, and begin disinfecting the vessel. Officials believe the virus may have originated during excursions earlier on the trip

possibly through contact with infected rodents, but the exact source is still under investigation

The cruise began in Argentina in March and has been at sea for about seven weeks

Earlier, I spoke with public health expert Professor Lawrence Gawson. He's an internationally recognized scholar at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University

and directs the World Health Organization Center on global health law. I asked him how passengers likely contracted Hantavirus

The more likely possibility is that it a rodent disease mice or rat droppings urine Sometimes it aerosolizes in the

air and you can breathe it in. And there are two forms of hantavirus disease, both very

very serious and potentially lethal. One is a pulmonary form that basically affects your

breathing and your lungs. And the other one is a hemorrhagic fever, which primarily affects your

kidneys. And both of them are very dangerous. And unless you get very intensive care

can lead to death because there is no known treatment for either form of the disease

Is there a risk for those 140 or so passengers who are still on board because they're in close quarters with people who might be infected with the Hantavirus

Well, they're a considerable risk, but not for that reason. It's very unlikely that being in close quarters that you'll contract the virus from another person

what's much more likely is that many of them have already been exposed to these contaminated

rat or mice droppings and they're going to get very very sick

and before they get very sick they're going to need to get strong supportive care

and then ultimately intensive care and the ship medics don't have the capacity to do that