Kamal Ghorui
Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius
Passengers evacuated from the virus-hit Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius are set to begin leaving a specialist isolation facility in the UK after completing an initial 72-hour quarantine period, as health officials continue efforts to contain a rare hantavirus outbreak linked to the vessel.According to a BBC report, the group — comprising 20 British nationals, a German citizen residing in the UK, and a Japanese passenger — had been isolating at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside after being repatriated from Tenerife.Authorities said all passengers remain healthy and asymptomatic, but they will now be required to continue self-isolation at home for another 42 days as a precaution.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) stated that public health specialists will assess whether individuals can safely isolate at home or if alternative accommodation arrangements are necessary.Passengers had been staying in self-contained flats with food, medical support and essential supplies provided by NHS and UKHSA teams.“We want to reassure both passengers and the wider public that robust arrangements are in place, and that everyone involved will be looked after every step of the way,” UKHSA chief scientific officer Professor Robin May said.The outbreak aboard the expedition cruise ship has so far been linked to three deaths, including two confirmed hantavirus cases — a German woman and a Dutch woman. The Dutch woman’s elderly husband also died before testing could be carried out.The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed six infections linked to the outbreak, including two British nationals currently being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa. Officials identified the Andes strain of hantavirus on board, one of the few variants known to spread from person to person.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week there was “no sign” of a wider global outbreak at present, but warned that more cases could still emerge.Meanwhile, 10 additional passengers and crew members are being transported to the UK from the British territories of Saint Helena and Ascension Island as a precautionary measure. UKHSA said England’s health system was “well equipped” to manage any potential cases if symptoms develop.Elsewhere, a British man with suspected hantavirus remains in stable condition while isolating on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic.Two more Britons who had disembarked earlier at Saint Helena are continuing voluntary self-isolation in the UK.The MV Hondius had around 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries on board when it departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1. The ship later docked in Spain’s Canary Islands after the outbreak emerged.Oceanwide Expeditions, the vessel’s operator, said all remaining passengers have now been repatriated to their home countries.The ship is currently sailing to Rotterdam in the Netherlands with a reduced crew, medical staff and the body of one deceased passenger on board, where it will undergo full disinfection procedures
