A Royal Navy ship has arrived off the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, to provide life-saving medical equipment to a resident battling hantavirus. HMS Medway deployed from the Falkland Islands on May 14 and arrived last week carrying six doctors and medical supplies.
The colony, which is home to around 245 people, has just one GP surgery. Its two doctors were exhausted after delivering round-the-clock care and were close to running out of supplies. Earlier this month, airborne soldiers parachuted onto the island to aid in the patient’s care after a 7,000-mile flight from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Al Carns, the Armed Forces minister, said on Saturday: “Flying thousands of miles, parachuting into the unknown, they demonstrated immense courage in a daring life-saving mission.
“We are deeply proud of everything they achieved. Professional, brave and exceptionally capable they are now enjoying the pleasure of the Royal Navy sailing home.”
Tristan da Cunha, in a group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic, is Britain’s most remote inhabited overseas territory.
The infected islander is understood to have disembarked from the stricken MV Hondius before returning to the island which is only accessible by boat.
The inaccessibility of the island makes treatment of those seriously ill difficult, with patients requiring high levels of care needing to be evacuated to Cape Town, a six-day journey of more than 1,750 miles.
The island has no intensive care unit or ventilators.
Efforts to get a hospital ship equipped for handling medical emergencies to Tristan da Cunha would normally take two months, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
HMS Medway will now collect the paratroopers who deployed onto the island earlier this month, allowing them to commence their journey home.
Nine asymptomatic residents of St Helena and Ascension Island who had had contact with those affected by the virus, arrived in the UK last week to allow the NHS’s High Consequence Infectious Diseases network to treat them should the begin to show symptoms.
They are currently isolating at an NHS facility along with others deemed to be at risk of having interacted with the virus in some way.
Dr Meera Chand, Deputy Director at UKHSA, said: “UKHSA will continue to work with our partners locally, nationally and internationally to ensure everyone has the necessary support in place.
“We are undertaking safe repatriation of those affected by the outbreak where appropriate, incorporating medical checks and support.”
