WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - The United States is arranging a repatriation flight to return American passengers on a Dutch cruise ship hit by an outbreak of a deadly strain of hantavirus, the U.S. Department of State said on Friday.  

“The Department of State is closely tracking the hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean and maintaining close contact with the cruise ship staff, Americans on board, and U.S. and international health authorities,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson said the department is in direct contact with Americans on board and is ready to provide consular assistance as soon as the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain.

There are 17 American passengers aboard the ship, according to cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Ryan Patrick Jones; editing by Michelle Nichols)