A third British national is now suspected of having hantavirus connected to an outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, the UK government said Friday, bringing the total number of British nationals confirmed or suspected to have contracted the virus to three.
The newly identified patient is stranded on Tristan da Cunha, one of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth, located in the South Atlantic. The ship stopped there in mid-April. The British government said medical staff will be sent to the islands to provide support, and four other Britons who disembarked at the nearby island of St. Helena, also without symptoms, remain there in contact with health officials.
Two other British men have confirmed cases. Martin Anstee, a 56-year-old retired police officer who was also working as an expedition guide on the ship, was evacuated to the Netherlands on Wednesday. He told the BBC he was "fine" and remains in a stable condition. A second British passenger, 69, was medically evacuated to South Africa at the end of April and remains in intensive care, though officials said he is "doing better."
Five cases of hantavirus have been confirmed overall across the ship's passengers and crew, including one of three passengers on the cruise who died.
The MV Hondius is expected to dock in the Canary Islands this weekend. The British government has confirmed a chartered plane will meet the ship there to fly remaining British passengers and crew back to the United Kingdom. None of those still aboard are currently showing symptoms, but all will be asked to isolate upon arrival. A UK health official said British passengers who were on the ship will likely be asked to self-isolate for 45 days.
The outbreak was not detected immediately. The ship's operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said the first confirmed case of hantavirus was not reported until May 4. Before that, a group of 30 people from roughly a dozen nations had already disembarked at St. Helena on April 24. The operator said all guests who left the ship have been contacted.
Contact tracing is now underway in multiple countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands, for dozens of passengers who disembarked before the outbreak was identified.
The World Health Organization called the situation a "serious incident" but said the risk to the general public remained low, and stressed the outbreak was not comparable to the Covid-19 pandemic.