Commission coordinates European response to Hantavirus outbreak

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission is taking action to coordinate and support national authorities’ responses to the Hantavirus outbreak.

At present, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control assesses the risk to the general population in Europe as very low, given that appropriate infection prevention and control measures are being implemented and that hantaviruses are not easily spread between people.

EU Civil Protection Mechanism provided safe evacuations

Since the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by Spain on 6 May, the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre has been facilitating the safe evacuation of people aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.

Five repatriation flights coordinated by the EU already took place on Sunday 10 May. The flights, departing from Tenerife where the cruise ship was anchored, were executed by France, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, and Ireland. A sixth and last flight, executed by the Netherlands, is taking place today.

The Commission is also mobilising response capabilities and stockpiles from its strategic reserve. It has pre-positioned in Tenerife a medical evacuation aircraft from the EU fleet and hosted by Norway. Additional transport, logistics capacities and protective equipment are ready to be deployed if needed.

The Emergency Response Coordination Centre has deployed a Liaison Officer to Tenerife to support on-site coordination with the relevant authorities throughout the operation. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control deployed two experts from the EU Health Task Force on the ship, before people were disembarked.

Facilitating a common approach across Member States and global partners

On top of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the Commission is also supporting the health response to the Hantavirus outbreak. It is helping drive a joint European response, working closely with Spain (where the cruise passengers disembarked), Member States, countries participating in the Civil Protection Mechanism, ECDC, the World Health Organization, and G7 partners.

The Health Security Committee, chaired by the Commission, is bringing together national health authorities, and is helping align the measures for safe disembarkation, repatriation and follow-up of passengers.

Coordination is taking place continuously, with daily meetings of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the Health Security Committee or targeted multilateral contacts. This allows authorities to share the latest information, adjust operational plans, follow up on any potential case, and keep the European response aligned as the situation evolves.

The Commission’s priority is to protect citizens, support those directly affected and help Member States move quickly together, based on the latest evidence.

Background

Hantaviruses were included in the Comprehensive 2025 Health threat prioritisation assessment for medical countermeasures, as part of the Commission’s wider preparedness planning.  The Commission has consequently been funding the development of medical countermeasures against this health threat. Competitive calls for proposals were organised for advancing promising candidate vaccines and therapeutics against hantaviruses. 

The 2022 revised Regulation on serious cross-border threats to health provides a robust legal framework to improve the EU’s capacity in the vital areas of prevention, preparedness, surveillance, risk assessment, early warning, and response.  One of those mechanisms is the EU Health Task Force, led by ECDC, where experts can be dispatched to support countries in Europe and around the world by providing advice on operational outbreak response and crisis preparedness related to communicable diseases or diseases of unknown origin.

Any country can request assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre then coordinates and mobilises support, including emergency medical teams, mobile labs, medical countermeasures and equipment, and medical expertise. It can also coordinate and co-finance medical evacuations or repatriation flights, based on identified needs.

For more information

The ECDC is publishing a daily outbreak update with the latest figures, case definitions and risk assessment for the EU/EEA population.