MV Hondius Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak: UK Passengers Isolated After Three Deaths

Twenty British nationals, a German national resident in the UK, and a Japanese passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship are currently isolated at Arrowe Park Hospital. They are undergoing clinical assessments and testing following their evacuation from the vessel, which has been impacted by a hantavirus outbreak.

The group is more than 24 hours into a 72-hour isolation period. Upon discharge, they will be required to self-isolate for up to 45 days. Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), confirmed on Monday that the evacuees were "healthy and asymptomatic," adding that "robust arrangements are in place" for their care.

Three individuals have died in connection with the outbreak. An elderly Dutch man and his wife, as well as a German woman, are among the deceased, with two confirmed to have contracted the virus. World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on Tuesday that while there is "no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak," further cases are possible "given the long incubation period of the virus."

Eighty-seven passengers from the Dutch-operated MV Hondius, which was docked in Spain's Canary Islands, have been repatriated. The group now at Arrowe Park was flown to Manchester from Tenerife on Sunday. Two other British nationals with confirmed cases are receiving treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa, respectively. Additionally, a British man with suspected hantavirus is in isolation on Tristan da Cunha, and two more Britons are voluntarily self-isolating in the UK after disembarking the vessel earlier.