British passengers returning from a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak will be asked to self-isolate in the UK for 45 days, a health official has said. The MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, has seen three deaths and eight suspected cases of the rodent-borne virus since 11 April.
Two British nationals who left the ship at Saint Helena before the outbreak was detected are already self-isolating at home, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Neither is reporting symptoms. A British crew member was medically evacuated to the Netherlands for specialist care.
The Foreign Office is arranging a charter flight for remaining Britons on the ship, who are not showing symptoms, to be repatriated once the vessel docks in Tenerife in the coming days. Nineteen British nationals were among the 150 passengers, with four British crew members.
Dr Meera Chand, deputy director at UKHSA, said the risk to the general public remains very low. “We are standing up arrangements to support, isolate and monitor British nationals from the ship on their return to the UK,” she said. Contact tracing is under way to limit onward transmission.
Professor Robin May, UKHSA chief scientific officer, said the two Britons who left earlier had agreed to self-isolate. He suggested other British nationals would be asked to do the same for 45 days, most likely at home. The outbreak has been linked to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina joined by two passengers before boarding.
