The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified a rare strain of hantavirus that spreads from person-to-person and has a 40% mortality rate is responsible for the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship off Cape Verde, which has killed three passengers and sickened seven others. The rare strain, "the Andes virus," is usually found in Argentina and Chile. The WHO believes there may be human transmission occurring among close contacts. The cruise had visited many different islands and was likely to have come in contact with rodents. Spain granted permission to dock in the Canary Islands, but Spain's health ministry reportedly refuted the idea.