Cruise ship MV Hondius infected with hantavirus
Passengers evacuated from the virus-hit Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius will begin leaving specialist quarantine facilities in the UK after completing an initial 72-hour quarantine period, as health officials continue to work to contain a rare hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship.The group, made up of 20 British citizens, a German citizen living in the UK and a Japanese passenger, have been in isolation at Arrow Park Hospital in Merseyside after being repatriated from Tenerife, the BBC reported.Authorities said all passengers remain healthy and asymptomatic, but as a precautionary measure they will now need to continue self-isolating at home for 42 days.UKHSA said public health experts will assess whether individuals can safely isolate at home or whether alternative accommodation arrangements are required.Passengers have been staying in self-contained apartments and provided with food, medical support and essential supplies by NHS and UKHSA teams.UKHSA chief scientific officer Professor Robin May said: “We would like to reassure passengers and the wider public that strong arrangements are in place and everyone involved will be looked after.”Outbreaks on expedition cruise ships have so far resulted in three deaths, including two confirmed cases of hantavirus – a German woman and a Dutch woman. The Dutch woman’s elderly husband also died before testing could be carried out.The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed six infections related to the outbreak, including two British nationals currently being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa. Officials found the Andean strain of hantavirus on the ship, one of the few variants known to be spread between people.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week that there were currently “no signs” of a wider outbreak globally, but warned that more cases could still emerge.Meanwhile, a further 10 passengers and crew are being transported to the UK from the British territories of St Helena and Ascension Island as a precautionary measure. UKHSA said England’s health system was “well-equipped” to deal with any potential cases should symptoms appear.Elsewhere, a British man suspected of having hantavirus is in a stable condition in isolation on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha.Two other Britons who disembarked in St Helena earlier are continuing to voluntarily self-isolate in the UK.When the MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1, it was carrying approximately 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries. After the outbreak, the ship subsequently docked in the Canary Islands, Spain.Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s operator, said all remaining passengers have now been repatriated.The ship is currently sailing to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with a reduced crew, medical staff and the body of a deceased passenger, where it will undergo a comprehensive disinfection process
