Passengers from hantavirus-linked flight arrive in Netherlands 12 PEOPLE QUARANTINED / PHOTO

Two flights carrying passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which experienced a hantavirus outbreak, landed in the Netherlands on May 12.

A Dutch hospital that is treating one infected patient has also placed 12 staff members in precautionary quarantine, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The aircraft arrived at Eindhoven Airport shortly after midnight, bringing in 28 passengers in total, including eight Dutch nationals.

Authorities said travellers of other nationalities will continue their journeys onward to their home countries from the Netherlands.

At the same time, Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen said it had quarantined 12 staff members for six weeks after blood and urine samples were handled without the most recent safety protocols. The hospital stressed that the infection risk is considered very low and that patient care has not been disrupted. A patient from the ship was admitted there on May 7 after testing positive for hantavirus.

Hospital board chair Bertine Lahuis said an internal review will be carried out to determine how the lapse occurred and to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Meanwhile, the MV Hondius departed for the Netherlands late Monday night with 25 crew members, along with a doctor and nurse on board. All passengers have already disembarked, and the vessel is expected to arrive in the country around May 17, according to operator Oceanwide Expeditions.

The outbreak has been linked to three deaths so far, involving a Dutch couple and a German national. Hantavirus is typically spread by rodents, though human-to-human transmission is rare and usually requires close contact.

The World Health Organisation reported seven confirmed cases of the Andes strain of hantavirus, along with two suspected cases, including one person who died before testing and another case on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, where testing was unavailable.

Among the confirmed cases is a French passenger who tested positive after the ship docked in the Canary Islands and is currently in stable condition in intensive care, according to French officials.

Separately, Spanish authorities confirmed that one of 14 quarantined passengers in Madrid tested positive, though the individual had no symptoms and further testing is underway.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov