UK health boss traces all cruise ship passengers exposed to hantavirus

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive said two British nationals have been confirmed to be infected with hantavirus and a third Briton is suspected to have been infected on the MV Hondius on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha.

While no British citizens on board have reported symptoms, they are being closely monitored and will be required to quarantine for 45 days upon return to the UK.

UKHSA Chief Scientific Officer Professor Robin May said: “The situation is constantly evolving and we are working closely with our partners to support UK nationals on board the MV Hondius.”

He said: “The risk to the general public remains very low and the public can be assured that established infection control measures are in place at every step of the journey to ensure the safe repatriation of British passengers on board.”

UKHSA said it had traced seven British citizens who disembarked on the British Overseas Territory of St. Helena on April 24. Two of them returned to the UK independently and are currently self-isolating at home in the UK.

Four others remain on St Helena and a seventh has been traced outside the UK. While none of them are currently reporting symptoms, they have been advised to self-isolate and will continue to be monitored.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was in direct contact with the cruise ship and British nationals on board, and had consular teams in place in several countries to seek support.

UKHSA said the Ministry of Defense had helped provide vital diagnostic supplies, including PCR tests, which were flown to Ascension Island by military aircraft on Thursday.

Hantaviruses are a collective name for a group of viruses carried by rodents and spread through their feces and urine. They can cause a range of illnesses, from mild flu-like illness to severe respiratory illness.

Human infections are rare and tend to occur where humans and rodents coexist – most commonly rural, agricultural settings, although the virus can sometimes be found in janitorial sheds, barns and holiday homes where rodents may nest.

Most hantaviruses do not spread easily from person to person, although human-to-human transmission has been observed in some cases involving specific strains.

The World Health Organization, which is leading the international response to the incident, has identified the Andean strain – a species known to be capable of limited human-to-human transmission – associated with close and prolonged contact.

An outbreak linked to the cruise ship has killed three people, but the World Health Organization has ruled out the possibility of a pandemic similar to COVID-19 due to the very different nature of human-to-human transmission.

According to the latest news from the Spanish Ministry of Health, the MV Hondius luxury cruise ship operated by Oceanwide Expeditions began its journey in Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 and is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday.

Before the outbreak late last month, there were reportedly about 150 passengers and crew members from 28 countries on board.

This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.