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.

British people were among 30 passengers from 12 nations who left the ship when it docked at the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena. A Dutch woman who became unwell during onward travel died after accompanying her husband's body, which had been repatriated after he died on the ship on 11 April.

On Thursday a woman in Amsterdam who had contact with the deceased came forward with potential symptoms. Nineteen British nationals were listed as passengers on the MV Hondius with four British crew members. The vessel had been sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde.

UK health experts said British passengers will be asked to self-isolate for 45 days after disembarking. The Foreign Office is arranging a charter flight to repatriate the remaining Britons on board once the ship reaches Tenerife. According to health officials none of the British citizens currently on the vessel are reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored.

Contact tracing has begun for anyone who may have sat near the passengers who left earlier on flights home. >The patient in South Africa is doing better, and the two patients in the Netherlands we hear are stable. — Officials (The Guardian) Oceanwide Expeditions said it has contacted guests who had already disembarked.

The company is cooperating with health authorities on the response.