A specialist team of army and medical personnel has been parachuted onto the British overseas territory Tristan da Cunha with medical aid and equipment after a British national displayed symptoms of hantavirus.
Operation Details
In a first-of-its-kind operation, six paratroopers, an RAF consultant, and an Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade parachuted onto the remote island to provide support, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed on Sunday. Oxygen supplies and medical aid were also dropped onto the island, which is normally only accessible by boat.
The RAF A400M transport aircraft flew from RAF Brize Norton to Ascension Island, supported by an RAF Voyager, before heading to Tristan da Cunha. The MoD stated this was the first time medical personnel had been parachuted in for humanitarian support.
Patient and Cruise Ship Background
The patient had been on board the cruise ship MV Hondius, where an outbreak of hantavirus has killed three people, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed. The patient is currently in hospital on the island where they live, according to UK minister for the overseas territories, Stephen Doughty.
The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife on Sunday morning, and British passengers will be repatriated to isolate at the hospital used as the UK’s initial Covid quarantine site. UKHSA said the risk to the public remains very low.
Repatriation and Isolation Plans
Passengers will be transferred to an isolation facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside, after being repatriated on a chartered flight. Officials from UKHSA and the Foreign Office greeted the ship in Tenerife, with Britons tested for hantavirus before disembarking. Those testing negative and asymptomatic will be taken directly to the repatriation flight staffed by medical professionals and equipped with personal protective equipment.
After returning to the UK, passengers will be housed in an accommodation block on the Arrowe Park site away from public areas for clinical assessments and testing as a precaution. The hospital previously housed British citizens returning from Wuhan, China, in January 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic.
Global Response and Case Numbers
The World Health Organisation reported on Saturday that there were no symptomatic passengers on board the ship. It confirmed six hantavirus cases linked to MV Hondius, with four patients currently hospitalised. A total of eight cases, including three deaths, have been reported, with one previous suspected case reclassified after testing negative.
UKHSA said three British nationals are among the eight cases: two confirmed hantavirus and one suspected. The two confirmed cases are in hospital in South Africa and the Netherlands, while the third national on Tristan da Cunha is receiving support from health services on the remote island.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that the safety of all members of the British family is the top priority, and the government will continue working closely with international authorities and the Tristan da Cunha administration.
Tristan da Cunha is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, Britain’s most remote inhabited overseas territory, accessible only by boat, with no airstrip and a population of 221.
