Health authorities are investigating a growing hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius after a third British national was identified as a suspected case.
The individual is currently on the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, where the ship made a stop in mid-April during its expedition voyage.
Two other British passengers have already been confirmed to have contracted the virus. One of them, a 56-year-old expedition guide, remains in stable condition in the Netherlands after being evacuated from the vessel earlier this week. Another British passenger, aged 69, was airlifted to South Africa at the end of April and is still receiving intensive medical treatment, although officials say his condition has improved.
So far, five confirmed hantavirus cases have been linked to the outbreak. One of the infected passengers later died, while two additional deaths on board are still under investigation.
The cruise ship is expected to arrive in the Canary Islands this weekend. British authorities confirmed that a chartered aircraft will transport the remaining UK passengers and crew members back to Britain. Although none of the remaining British nationals are currently showing symptoms, health officials plan to request a 45-day self-isolation period as a precautionary measure.
Several British passengers had already left the ship earlier during a stop on Saint Helena on 24 April, before the outbreak was officially detected. Two of those passengers have since returned to the UK and voluntarily entered self-isolation despite showing no symptoms. Four others remain on the island under medical monitoring.
International contact tracing operations are now underway in several countries, including the Netherlands and Switzerland, as authorities attempt to identify and monitor passengers who may have been exposed before the virus was detected.
The World Health Organization described the outbreak as a serious incident but stressed that the overall risk to the public remains low. Officials emphasized that the situation is not comparable to the global spread experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to investigators, the source of the outbreak has not yet been fully determined. The World Health Organization said the first infected passengers had travelled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay during a bird-watching trip that included areas where rodents known to carry hantavirus are present.
One of the deaths involved a 69-year-old Dutch passenger who disembarked in Saint Helena before travelling to South Africa, where she died two days later. Her husband had previously died aboard the ship, while a German passenger also died during the voyage. Authorities have not confirmed whether those two deaths were directly linked to hantavirus.
Hantavirus is usually transmitted through contact with infected rodents such as rats and mice. However, experts are also examining the possibility of limited human-to-human transmission among passengers who spent prolonged periods in close contact.
Symptoms of the disease can include fever, fatigue, stomach pain, vomiting and breathing difficulties. In most cases, symptoms appear between two and four weeks after exposure to the virus.
British health officials have reassured the public that hantavirus does not spread through casual daily contact and that transmission between humans remains extremely rare.
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