All passengers on the ship affected by the hantavirus are considered high risk by the EU

All passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship are now considered "high-risk contacts" as a precautionary measure, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced.

This decision comes before the ship's scheduled arrival at the port of Granadilla de Abona, on the Spanish island of Tenerife, following a Hantavirus outbreak that has already claimed several lives on board.

According to the European agency, even passengers showing no symptoms will have to be repatriated via transport specially organized by their respective countries, rather than on regular commercial flights. They will then have to undergo a period of self-quarantine and be subject to enhanced health monitoring.

European health authorities are working with several governments to coordinate evacuations and limit any risk of the spread of this rare disease, in what is the first hantavirus outbreak ever recorded on a cruise ship.