A THIRD rat virus cruise passenger has tested positive for hantavirus with the ship leaving Tenerife with just crew on board.
A Spanish guest tested positive for the deadly virus and is said to be asymptomatic as medics quickly took them to quarantine in Madrid.
Three cruise passengers have already died, with two of them confirmed to have had the virus.
There are now seven positive cases confirmed among guests with an eighth listed as “probable” by the World Health Organisation.
The Spaniard was the latest evacuee to test positive for hantavirus with them now isolating at Gomaz Ulla hospital.
It comes as two more rat plague ship evacuees tested positive for the killer disease on Monday just hours after health officials gave them the all-clear to leave the ship.
Passengers were given a questionnaire and assessed for symptoms of the deadly disease before disembarking, but were not tested before leaving the vessel.
A French woman was confirmed to have the deadly hantavirus after falling ill on her repatriation flight to Paris.
She was allegedly told her early symptoms were “just anxiety” by doctors while onboard the virus-hit vessel.
She later tested positive for the virus with her condition deteriorating as the plane landed in the French capital, according to French Health Minister Stephanie Rist.
The woman is now fighting for her life in a specialised infectious diseases unit at a hospital in the French capital.
A US citizen on the cruise also tested positive as he flew back to the States on Sunday night.
The passenger had already tested mildly positive in Cape Verde before the evacuation in Tenerife, but European authorities didn’t consider it a strong enough positive to separate them from the wider group.
A second American passenger also started showing mild symptoms after leaving the MV Hondius.
It brings the numbers of overall confirmed cases to seven, with several more suspected infectious passengers travelling across the world.
A dozen staff at a Dutch hospital treating a hantavirus-positive evacuee have also been quarantined after procedural errors were made.
The Radboud University Hospital said errors were made in taking blood and disposing of the patient’s urine, and that the affected staff will be placed into a six week preventative quarantine.
All cruise guests have now been officially evacuated from the MV Hondius with the last 27 passengers were evacuated overnight.
The evacuees, including one Brit, left for the Netherlands on evacuation flights.
The Brit lives in Australia so left with an Aussie-organised repatriation flight, which also carried one New Zealander.
A Dutch flight left for Eindhoven Airport, followed by an Australian flight, also bound for the Netherlands.
The evacuated Aussie, Kiwi and Brit passengers will then be transferred to another plane which will fly them back to Australia.
MV Hondius set off four loud foghorn blasts and left the port at 7pm after all passengers were safely evacuated.
Twenty-five crew members and two medics remained onboard as the hantavirus-stricken ship steamed towards the Netherlands.
The rat virus cruise ship is expected to arrive in Rotterdam on Sunday evening.
The WHO Director-General said of the evacuation: “Spain did it in style and as planned.”
Bad weather forced the MV Hondius to moor at the Port of Granadilla to disembark the final evacuees.
It had originally only anchored 600 yards from land to appease furious locals who fumed that docking would be a health risk.
The regional leader of the Canary Islands had said he “cannot allow” rat virus ship the MV Hondius to enter his territory.
And dock workers launched a fiery protest, even threatening to blockade the port if the ship tried to dock.
