Three Brits are suspected of catching hantavirus with the virus having spread to a total of 13 countries from the cruise ship MV Hondius after it left Argentina
People are suspected of catching hantavirus in 13 countries stretching across four continents after the MV Hondius cruise ship departed Argentina.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said two British nationals have confirmed hantavirus but there is now “an additional suspected case of a British national on Tristan da Cunha”.
The patient remains on the remote South Atlantic island. The other two British nationals remain in hospital in the Netherlands and South Africa.
A total of 29 people left the cruise ship MV Hondius – including seven Britons – when it docked in St Helena on April 24, including a Dutch woman who became unwell during onward travel and died. Three people in total have died linked to an outbreak of hantavirus on the cruise ship.
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The UKHSA said none of the British citizens on board the ship, which is now travelling to Tenerife, is currently reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored.
It was not until 2 May that health authorities first confirmed hantavirus in a passenger aboard the ship, according to the World Health Organisation.
Authorities in nations including South Africa, Singapore and the Netherlands are now tracking down passengers who were on board the vessel. The Dutch couple who represented the first two cases had travelled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding the ship, according to the WHO.
A statement from the UKHSA said the ship is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, according to the latest updates from the Spanish health ministry. It added: “UK Government staff will be on the ground ready to support the British nationals disembarking.
“British passengers and ship crew not displaying any symptoms of hantavirus will be escorted by UK Government staff to an airport and given free passage back to the UK.”
It said Foreign Office officials and UKHSA teams will continue to support passengers, with a dedicated repatriation flight is being organised for passengers and crew.
The WHO also said that the risk to the general public remains low. Hantavirus is typically contracted through breathing in contaminated rodent droppings and does not spread easily between humans.
“We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity is shown across all countries,” said Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud, the WHO’s alert and response director, on Thursday.
Countries hit by hantavirus outbreak
- Argentina
- South Africa
- Cape Verde
- Singapore
- Philippines
- US
- Spain
- UK
- France
- Netherlands
- Denmark
- Germany
- Switzerland
All British passengers and crew from the ship are being asked to isolate for 45 days upon returning to the UK, with close monitoring by UKHSA officials.
“Follow-up is already under way for individuals who may have been in contact with cases and have since returned to the UK or are in in UK Overseas Territories,” the statement added.
It has already emerged that two Britons are currently self-isolating at home in the UK after they left the ship. The two flew back to the UK via Johannesburg after disembarking in St Helena.
Four Britons in total remain on the South Atlantic remote islands. A seventh individual has been traced outside the UK, according to the UKHSA. Some 19 British nationals in total were listed as passengers on the MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, with four British crew members.
