UK rat virus update on two passengers on board horror outbreak ship | World | News
The MV Hondius cruise ship has been anchored off the coast of Cape Verded (Image: AP)
Two people who were on board the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have returned to the UK, health officials have said. The individuals are self-isolating and neither are displaying any symptoms having arrived back in Britain from the MV Hondius independently, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
In an update on Wednesday evening, the agency said: “They are receiving advice and support from UKHSA and have been advised to self-isolate. UKHSA are supporting a small number of individuals identified as close contacts of those on the boat. They are being offered support and are also self-isolating. None are reporting any symptoms.”
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The MV Hondius is set to dock in Tenerife on Saturday (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
It added risk to the general public “remains very low”.
The pair reportedly left the MV Hondius in St Helena where it docked between April 22-24, before flying back to the UK via Johannesburg.
It is believed they contacted health officials after hearing about the cases of hantavirus — which is carried by rodents such as mice and rats — on board the Dutch-flagged vessel.
Three passengers on the MV Hondius have died following the outbreak.
The outbreak has been linked to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina which two of the passengers went on before boarding the ship.
Some 19 British nationals were listed as passengers on the cruise, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, with four British crew members.
Two Britons, a passenger and a crew member, are among those taken ill.
British crew member Martin Anstee was one of three suspected hantavirus evacuated from the ship on Wednesday morning.
The 56-year-old expedition guide and former police officer was flown to receive specialist medical care in the Netherlands after being airlifted off the vessel.
His wife Nicola told the Telegraph it had been “a very traumatic few days”.
The UKHSA said none of the British citizens on board the vessel are currently reporting symptoms and are being “closely monitored”.
The health authority is also helping to trace people who may have been on the same flight as a confirmed case.
It said it is working to prepare for the arrival of British nationals to the UK from the Dutch-flagged ship which has been anchored off Cape Verde.
Health officials said once the ship docks in Canary Islands the remaining British nationals can be repatriated if they do not develop symptoms.
It is expected to reach Tenerife on Saturday after the Spanish government overruled local authorities to allow it to dock at the island.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said eight hantavirus cases — three confirmed, five suspected — have so far been identified in people who were on the ship.
It is understood that none of the remaining passengers on board have symptoms and two extra medics have been flown in to assist.
Passengers have been confined to their cabins in a bid to stop the spread of the virus.
