A British crew member with suspected hantavirus has been medically evacuated from the cruise ship linked to the outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed.
The crew member, along with a Dutch colleague and another passenger, were taken from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius for onward travel to the Netherlands.
The evacuation means the ship can now continue on its three-day journey to the Canary Islands after Spanish authorities gave permission for the boat to dock. It had been anchored off Cape Verde while arrangements were put in place to evacuate the crew members.
WHO Confirms Evacuation
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, posted on X: "Three suspected hantavirus case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands in co-ordination with WHO, the ship's operator and national authorities from Cabo Verde, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands."
He added: "WHO continues to work with the ship's operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed. Monitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship's operators and national health authorities. At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low."
Ship's Next Destination
Tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement: "At this stage, the planned destination for m/v Hondius following the successful medical transfer is the Canary Islands. Oceanwide Expeditions remains in close and continual discussion with relevant authorities regarding our exact point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and a precise timeline. We are unable to confirm the details of onward travel for guests at this stage. This is dependent on medical advice and the outcome of stringent screening procedures."
Passengers are confined to their cabins while "disinfection and other public health measures are carried out", the WHO said on Tuesday.
Spanish Concerns
An update from health officials in Spain on Tuesday said: "The World Health Organisation has explained that Cape Verde cannot carry out this operation. The Canary Islands are the closest place with the necessary capabilities. Spain has a moral and legal obligation to help these people, among whom are also several Spanish citizens."
The leader of the regional government of the islands expressed concern over the plan, with Fernando Clavijo writing on X that he has requested a meeting with Spanish President Pedro Sanchez "due to the lack of co-ordination and information regarding the cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak".
British Nationals on Board
Some 19 British nationals were listed as passengers on the ship, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, with four British crew members. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said plans are being made for the "safe onward travel" of Britons on the ship. The Foreign Office confirmed that it has been directly in touch with all British passengers on board the ship.
A British passenger and the British crew member are among those taken ill in the suspected outbreak, which has been linked to three deaths. The WHO said on Tuesday that it has been notified of seven suspected cases. The British passenger was medically evacuated from the ship on April 27 and remains in isolation in hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Expert Analysis on Virus
Commenting on the variant of the virus linked to the outbreak, the Andes virus, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "With this particular hantavirus, the Andes virus, it is known very rarely to spread between people with close contact, usually symptomatic individuals who are in close contact with each other. That's important because it means it is very easy to isolate people who are unwell and to follow sort of quarantine and so on to avoid spread to other people. It's not like the situation we had with Covid-19 in the pandemic where people could spread even without symptoms, and therefore it was able to spread very easily in the population."
He added: "I think the risk is essentially zero of spread outside of this particular outbreak, because the authorities have recognised this and they know exactly what to do to make sure that the individuals are isolated and there's no-one with transmission now that we know what we're dealing with."
Dr Jacqueline Weyer, acting deputy executive director for the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa, said the Andes virus is a "slow burner" and "moves really slowly" which "allows a window of opportunity to contain the outbreak". But she told Sky News that the British passenger in hospital in Johannesburg will be under "strict isolation precautions to ensure that we don't see onward transmission". She said that investigations have found no rodent infestations on the ship itself and that the "exposure event" was probably through rodent exposure in Argentina.
