UK identifies new suspected hantavirus case on remote island

Health authorities are monitoring a growing hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, with a new suspected case identified among a British national on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha.

The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday two British cases connected to the outbreak on board the MV Hondius, and said it is assessing an additional suspected infection on Tristan da Cunha. Officials have not released further details about the new case.

Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died after contracting the virus during the voyage. Five infections have been confirmed so far, with several additional suspected cases under investigation.

The vessel is due to dock in the Spanish island of Tenerife in the coming days. British passengers who remain asymptomatic will be flown back to the United Kingdom and asked to isolate for 45 days as a precaution.

Seven British nationals disembarked earlier in St Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Authorities said two are already isolating in the UK’s mainland, four remain on the island, and one has been traced outside the country.

Global risk remains low

The World Health Organization said global risk remains low, even though the Andean strain identified in some cases can, in rare instances, spread between people.

“This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic management. “This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”

Health officials have contacted passengers from at least 12 countries who left the ship earlier in April. Monitoring is under way across multiple regions, including the United States and Singapore, where returning travellers are being tracked or tested despite showing no symptoms.

Passengers who left the ship earlier, including travellers from at least 12 countries, have been contacted as part of tracing efforts.

‘It’s very much, we hope, under control’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US said it is closely monitoring developments and assessed the risk to the US public as extremely low.

US authorities have begun tracking individuals who were on the ship. Health departments in Georgia and Arizona are monitoring returning residents who remain asymptomatic, while other states, including California and Texas, have also identified passengers linked to the voyage.