Five Australian residents are expected to land in Perth within hours after their medical evacuation from the virus-struck luxury South American cruise.

A government-supported charter flight is carrying carry four Australian citizens, one permanent resident and a New Zealand citizen to Australia from Tenerife in the Canary Islands after their voyage was marred by the deadly outbreak.

It came as Australian authorities issued a travel warning for Argentina, where the outbreak is believed to have started.

“Hantavirus continues to be a risk in Argentina, including in and around Buenos Aires and northern Patagonia. It’s generally spread through contact with infected rodents. Avoid contact with live or dead rodents, nests, burrows and droppings,” Smartraveller said in an update on Monday.

The MV Hondius, which was carrying about 150 people, finally docked in Tenerife on Sunday (local time).

Three people have died and five others are confirmed to have tested positive to hantavirus, which is contracted through contact with infected rodents.

The Australians onboard were some of the last passengers to disembark. Ahead of their flight, travellers of other nationalities left luggage behind as they were ferried off the ship and taken by bus, under police guard, directly to their flight.

World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted video of some of the passenger evacuations.

“WHO experts on the ground are working with the Spanish Health Ministry on the epidemiological assessment of the passengers and coordinating charter flights with the Interior Ministry,” he said.

Seventeen Americans were among the first to be evacuated from teh ship. The US Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday that one had since tested positive for the virus and another had mild symptoms.

The Australians’ flight was likely to leave the island about 5pm local time on Monday and arrive at an RAAF base in Perth on Tuesday.

The Australian citizens and permanent resident live in NSW and Queensland. None is believed to be displaying signs of the virus.

They will quarantine for three weeks at at the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience north-east of Perth and next to RAAF Pearce.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler acknowledged that was short of the potential 42-day potential incubation period for hantavirus. He said further advice would be sought from chief health officers for arrangements beyond the initial three weeks.

“I want to stress that our primary responsibility as a government, obviously, is to keep our community safe and healthy,” he said on Monday.

“We also have a responsibility to those passengers to bring them home and to protect them from any risk, no matter how small, of potentially transmitting the virus without knowing it.

“And these arrangements discharge those responsibilities.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns said state health officials had been working with their federal counterparts to be prepared for the travellers’ arrival.

“The risk of transmission is relatively low at this stage, certainly not comparable to the coronavirus,” Minns said on Monday.

“Those individuals, two from NSW, will be required to quarantine when they come back to the country, but … it’s important we don’t exaggerate the risk.”

Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington also confirmed her state was ready to isolate the returnees and said reports from the ship had been distressing.

“Queensland Health will be working with the federal government in relation to the repatriation and the quarantining,” she said.

Medical personnel will be onboard the repatriation flight to monitor the passengers, and there will be secure transportation to quarantine facilities after their arrival.

Last week, the Australian Centre for Disease Control said the risk of a widespread outbreak of hantavirus remained low.

“Hantavirus is not new. It is a group of viruses found in different parts of the world, most commonly associated with rodents,” it said.

“Although hantavirus infection is serious, the likelihood of it causing a widespread outbreak is very low.

“Human infection is rare and typically occurs through breathing in dust or air particles contaminated by the faeces, urine or nesting materials of infected rodents. It can also occur by direct contact with the urine, faeces or saliva of an infected rodent.”

It said the MV Hondius outbreak was the Andes virus, a type of hantavirus.

“Although very uncommon, Andes virus can spread from an infected person who has symptoms through close and prolonged contact, such as people living together,” it said.

“There is no evidence of transmission from asymptomatic people.”

-with AAP