Fear of Hantavirus on a cruise ship
Twenty British nationals evacuated from the virus-hit MV Hondius cruise ship have begun quarantine in a specialist isolation facility in the UK after being airlifted from Tenerife amid fears of a Hantavirus outbreak linked to the ship.According to a BBC report, the passengers arrived at Manchester Airport on a Titan Airways charter flight on Sunday before being transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside.Health officials said all evacuees are currently “well and asymptomatic” but will remain under observation for 72 hours before undergoing self-isolation for another 42 days at home.
WHO confirms deaths linked to the outbreak
An outbreak on the Dutch cruise ship killed three people.
The World Health Organization has confirmed that six people have been infected with Hantavirus, including two British citizens currently receiving treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa.Officials said the Andean Hantavirus strain – one of the few strains capable of spreading from person to person – was identified among some passengers on the plane.The MV Hondius had about 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries on board when it departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1.
The evacuated passengers were tested before boarding
The 20 Britons repatriated to the UK were tested for Hantavirus before boarding an evacuation flight from Tenerife’s southern airport. Besides them, a German national residing in the UK and a Japanese passenger were also taken to Arrowe Park Hospital.Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said authorities may review the isolation timeline depending on scientific assessments in the coming days.“We will support them closely, not only through the testing, but also for the very significant emotional distress that this will obviously cause,” he said.Health officials also began contact tracing for individuals who may have been in contact with evacuated passengers.
Emotional support, and arranging designated isolation apartments
Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital, said passengers would be accommodated in self-contained accommodation units equipped with phones and basic supplies.“What we have learned from previous experiences is that they will be completely devastated. They may have felt very traumatized by the whole experience,” Holmes said.A specialized medical team will remain on site throughout the quarantine period. Any passenger showing symptoms will be transferred to the Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit at Royal Liverpool University Hospital.The authorities explained that the hospital continues to operate normally and there is no danger to other patients, visitors or employees.
Cases appear among other nationalities
The outbreak also affected passengers from several other countries.French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that a French passenger began showing symptoms while returning from Tenerife to Paris.Meanwhile, US health authorities said that of the 17 Americans evacuated, one person showed minor symptoms while a PCR test result came back slightly positive for the Andean strain.There are also two suspected cases linked to the ship, including a British man currently isolated on the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha.
The British Army deployed six paratroopers and two doctors to assist local healthcare workers there.
The ship is to undergo disinfection in Rotterdam
While most of the passengers disembarked to return home on Sunday, about 30 crew members, a Dutch nurse and the body of a deceased passenger remained on the ship.The World Health Organization said the ship will now sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where it will undergo full disinfection procedures.
