WHO address fears hantavirus outbreak is ‘start of pandemic’ as another suspected British case confirmed
The UK has confirmed that a third Brit is thought to be infected with hantavirus.
The outbreak on board the MV Hondius cruise ship is causing international concern, and with memories of the Covid pandemic still fresh, there are fears the situation could escalate.
The outbreak quite possibly spread during a birdwatching expedition in Ushuaia, Argentina. As of yesterday (7 May), there were five confirmed cases of hantavirus, along with three suspected cases, and three people have died.
Some 19 British nationals were listed as passengers on the cruise, as well as four British crew members.
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MV Hondius is expected to dock on Sunday in Tenerife, as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in an update that the two Britons who were medically evacuated are improving.
But a third British national is now suspected to have the virus on the small volcanic island of Tristan da Cunha, a British territory in the South Atlantic.
The island is home to 220 British citizens, who live in its only settlement, a village named Edinburgh of the Seven Seas.
"None of the British citizens onboard are currently reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored," the FCDO said.
A 69-year-old Brit was taken to South Africa on 27 April and is receiving care at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Another Brit, Martin Anstee, 56, was taken off the MV Hondius on Wednesday and flown to the Netherlands to receive specialist medical care.
Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at UKHSA, added: "This is an evolving situation, and we are working closely with partners to support British Nationals on board the MV Hondius.
"The risk to the general population remains very low and the public can be reassured that established infection control measures will be put in place at every step of the journey to ensure the safe repatriation of British passengers on board."
The WHO has said contact tracing is underway to limit any possible spread of infections.
Experts believe the outbreak may involve the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare version that can spread between humans and has a death rate of around 40 percent.
WHO epidemic expert Maria Van Kerkhove said: "This is not the next Covid, but it is a serious infectious disease. Most people will never be exposed to this."
"This is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently," she added.
WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus also said his organisation 'assesses the public health risk as low'.
A timeline of the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius
1 April - The MV Hondius cruise ship departs Ushuaia, Argentina, going on to visit Antarctica, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, Saint Helena, and Ascension Island. Around 150 people are on board, of 23 different nationalities.
6 April - A 69-year-old Dutch man complains of a fever, headache, and mild diarrhoea while onboard.
11 April - The man’s condition deteriorates. He dies following respiratory distress.
12 April - The captain of the MV Hondius breaks the news of the man’s death to passengers. According to one of the passengers, the captain says the man died of natural causes and there is no contagion. Life continues as normal on board the ship.
24 April - The man’s wife, also 69, goes ashore in St Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic, experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms. On the same day, a British man presents to the ship’s doctor with shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia.
25 April - The man’s wife boards an Airlink flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. Contact tracing efforts follow in the coming days to track down the 82 passengers and six crew members onboard the flight.
26 April - The 69-year-old Dutch woman dies after arriving at the emergency department in Johannesburg, South Africa. Meanwhile, the British man’s condition deteriorates.
27 April - The British man is medically evacuated from Ascension Island to South Africa. He remains in intensive care in Johannesburg. The MV Hondius initiates its SHIELD response health and safety plan.
28 April - A German passenger develops a fever.
2 May - The German passenger dies following pneumonia symptoms. Laboratory testing confirms the British man has hantavirus. The World Health Organisation is notified by the UK.
4 May - The Dutch woman is also confirmed to have had hantavirus. The ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, also confirms that there are two crew members, one British and one Dutch, with acute respiratory symptoms who require urgent medical attention.
6 May - Swiss authorities confirm a case of hantavirus from a passenger of the MV Hondius who heard of the outbreak and presented himself at a hospital in Zurich. The two crew members, along with a close contact of the German passenger who died on 2 May, are medically evacuated from MV Hondius. Of these three passengers, two are now in stable condition in hospital, and one is asymptomatic in Germany. The MV Hondius heads North for the Canary Islands. Oceanwide Expeditions says no symptomatic individuals remain on the ship
8 May - The UK confirms a third British national has suspected hantavirus on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha.
10 May - The MV Hondius is scheduled to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife
Topics: Health, World News, News, UK News
Anish Vij