Cyprus is “fully prepared” for hantavirus, “both in terms of laboratory support and in terms of managing potential cases”, the health ministry said on Monday, with the number of cases of the virus rising worldwide and passengers from the infected cruise ship the MV Hondius having been repatriated to both Greece and Turkey in recent days.

The ministry stressed that “human-to-human transmission” of the virus is “extremely rare” and “not a common way of spreading the virus”, and it is transmitted primarily through contact with rodents, such as mice and rats, or with contaminated particles from their environment.

It also quoted the European centre for disease prevention and control, stressing that “the risk to the general population in Europe is assessed as very low”, but added that “the situation is being closely monitored by the relevant international and European health authorities”.

To this end, it said that it is in constant communication with European and international public health organisations and constantly evaluating the epidemiological data and implementing, where necessary, the required preparedness protocols.

“The public is urged to obtain information exclusively from official and reliable sources of information and to avoid reproducing unconfirmed information,” it said.

Passengers disembarked from the MV Hondius at the weekend and began to be repatriated to their countries of origin, with 147 passengers from 23 countries having been aboard the ship.

One of the passengers is a Greek national, who was flown from Tenerife, where the ship had docked, to the Dutch city of Eindhoven alongside 25 fellow passengers aboard an evacuation flight on Sunday evening.

From there, the Greek national was flown to Greece’s Elefsina airbase aboard a Greek air force jet, before being transferred to the Attikon university hospital on the outskirts of Athens, where they will remain in quarantine for 45 days.

Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said that the person, who has not been identified, is “entering quarantine for precautionary reasons only” and “has absolutely nothing” in terms of ailments.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s health ministry confirmed that three Turkish nationals who were on board the ship have been repatriated to the country, and that they, too, will be placed in quarantine upon arrival.

“In the monitoring process, which is being carried out in coordination with the relevant international authorities, it has been reported that [they] have no symptoms or signs of illness,” it said, before adding that “our health procedures will be meticulously managed”.