A woman admitted to a hospital in Alicante is being investigated for presenting symptoms compatible with mpox, after sharing a flight from Johannesburg with a deceased patient from the M/V Hondius cruise ship. Health authorities have activated monitoring and control protocols to determine if this is a new imported case in Spain.
Contact tracing and genomic sequencing underway 🧬
Epidemiology teams have initiated contact tracing of flight passengers and cruise ship crew members. Samples from the patient will be analyzed using PCR and genomic sequencing to identify the virus strain. The health surveillance system at Spanish airports and ports operates under established protocols to detect and isolate suspected cases of notifiable infectious diseases.
The cruise ship of death: now also traveling by plane 🛳️
It seems the M/V Hondius not only sails the seas, but its passengers now leave a viral trail on airlines. The affected woman thought the worst part of the trip was the layover, but it turns out the most exclusive souvenir from the cruise isn't bought at duty-free shops. Good thing at least the airline catering didn't include monkey soup.