Two British nationals who were medically evacuated from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak are showing signs of improvement, global health officials have confirmed. A 69-year-old British passenger is receiving intensive care at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, while expedition guide Martin Anstee, 56, was flown to the Netherlands for specialist treatment.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a press briefing that the patient in South Africa is 'doing better' and the two patients in the Netherlands are 'stable'. As of Thursday, there are eight suspected cases of hantavirus, with five confirmed by laboratory tests. The outbreak has been linked to three deaths and connected to a birdwatching trip taken by two passengers before boarding the MV Hondius.
The ship has been given permission to anchor in the Canary Islands, with an estimated arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife early on Sunday. Two doctors and infectious disease experts from the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control are on board conducting medical assessments. The WHO assesses the public health risk as low, but warns of possible further cases due to the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks.
Seven British nationals were among 30 people who left the ship when it docked in Saint Helena. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed that two Britons who returned from the vessel are isolating at home without symptoms. Contact tracing is underway for anyone who may have sat next to them on their flight home. The Foreign Office is arranging a charter flight to repatriate remaining Britons on board who are not displaying symptoms once the ship docks in Tenerife.
UK health experts have advised that British passengers on board will be asked to self-isolate for 45 days. Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UKHSA, stated that for the broader public not directly involved with the cruise ship, the risk is 'really negligible'. None of the British citizens currently on board are reporting symptoms, but they are being closely monitored.
