Two Britons Evacuated from Hantavirus-Affected Ship Are Improving

Global health officials said two Britons medically evacuated from a hantavirus-affected cruise ship are improving in hospital. A 69-year-old British man was taken to a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg, on 27 April after being removed from the MV Hondius.

Expedition guide Martin Anstee, 56, was taken off the vessel on Wednesday and flown to the Netherlands for specialist care. Officials stated that the man in South Africa is doing better while the patients in the Netherlands are stable. As of Thursday there were eight suspected cases on the ship with five confirmed by laboratory tests as hantavirus.

The virus is a rare family carried by rodents. The outbreak has been linked to three deaths. Two of the passengers had taken a birdwatching trip to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding the vessel. The variant involved is the Andes virus, which can have an incubation period of up to six weeks.

Spanish authorities granted permission for the MV Hondius to anchor in the Canary Islands. m. local time on Wednesday and is expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife in the early hours of Sunday. The tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions reported that morale on board has improved since the journey toward Tenerife began.

Two doctors remain on the ship along with infectious disease experts who are conducting medical assessments of all passengers and crew. Officials said the risk to the public is low but added that more cases could appear because of the incubation period.

A similar outbreak in Argentina in 2018-19 resulted in 34 cases.