Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

All passengers on hantavirus-hit ship considered high-risk contacts, EU health agency says

All passengers on the cruise ship hit ​by a deadly hantavirus outbreak are considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure, Europe's public health agency said ​ahead of the ship's expected anchoring on Sunday off the Spanish island ‌of ​Tenerife.

Passengers without symptoms will be repatriated for self-quarantine via specially arranged transport, not regular commercial flights, by their respective countries, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Saturday as part of its rapid scientific advice.

WHO reports six confirmed hantavirus cases tied to Spain-bound cruise

The World Health Organization said on Friday that eight people had fallen ill, including ‌three who died, in a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, with six confirmed cases and two probable cases. Here are some details:

Countries prepare to evacuate hantavirus ship passengers

Countries prepared to evacuate their citizens from the luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly strain of hantavirus that is due to anchor near Tenerife early on Sunday, as health authorities said the risk of the virus spreading was low. The World Health Organization briefed member states with nationals on board on Saturday on how to ‌manage the process, advising active monitoring of passengers for a 42-day period from the last point of exposure.

One of repatriated French passengers from hantavirus-hit ship has symptoms, PM says

One of five French passengers who were on a cruise ‌ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak showed symptoms during a repatriation flight on Sunday, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.

Trump plans to fire US FDA chief Makary, sources say

The White House signed off on a plan to fire U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, according to sources familiar with the matter, in what could be the next leadership change within the federal health department. The Wall Street Journal earlier on Friday first reported that President Donald Trump planned to fire Makary.

US FDA to ease crackdown on some under-review unauthorized vapes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said ⁠on Friday it would ​not prioritize enforcement against certain unauthorized e-cigarettes and nicotine pouch products ⁠if the companies have marketing applications under review. The new guideline applies to products with premarket applications that have been accepted for review or supplemental filings that have been pending for more than 180 days, the agency said.

Evacuation flights leave Tenerife after cruise ship virus outbreak

Groups of passengers and crew ⁠disembarked from a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak on Sunday to be evacuated to their home countries where they will isolate according to national protocols to prevent further spread of the disease. Government planes carrying Spanish and French nationals landed in Madrid and Paris ​on Sunday afternoon, where the passengers were transported to hospital, according to the two countries' governments.

UK nationals on hantavirus-hit cruise ship to isolate in hospital on return

British passengers and staff on the cruise ship hit ⁠by a hantavirus outbreak will be taken to a hospital in northwest England for an initial isolation period once they are repatriated, UK health authorities said on Saturday. The ship, the MV Hondius, is expected to anchor off the Spanish island of Tenerife early on Sunday, following which the 22 British nationals on board ⁠will ​be flown back to Britain.

Two suspected hantavirus cases found in Spain, remote Tristan da Cunha

Health experts raced to contain a potential spread of hantavirus as two suspected cases emerged on Friday far from the luxury cruise liner where the outbreak started. The latest reports involved a man who fell ill after leaving the ship and a woman who became sick after sitting near an infected cruise passenger on a plane.

Argentine authorities say hantavirus patients not likely infected in Tierra del Fuego ⁠province

Patients on a luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak could not have been infected in Argentina's southernmost Tierra del Fuego province, said Juan Petrina, director of epidemiology and environmental health for the province, during a press ⁠conference on Friday. Petrina said the conclusion was based on the time ⁠frame between the patients' time in the province and the onset of symptoms.

British paratroopers lead airdrop onto Tristan da Cunha for suspected hantavirus case

British paratroopers have dropped onto Britain's most remote overseas territory, Tristan da Cunha, along with medics and medical supplies, after a case of suspected hantavirus was confirmed there. A team of six paratroopers and two military clinicians from ‌16 Air Assault Brigade jumped from ‌an RAF A400M transport aircraft that flew 6,788 km (4,218 miles) from RAF Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire to Ascension Island then ​another 3,000 km due south to Tristan da Cunha.