UK Confirms 2 Citizens Infected with Hantavirus

JAKARTA - The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that hantavirus infections have been confirmed to infect two British citizens from the MV Hondius cruise ship, with a third case also suspected of attacking British citizens on Tristan da Cunha Island, Atlantic Ocean.

"Two British citizens have been confirmed to have hantavirus infection, with an additional suspected case in a British citizen in Tristan da Cunha," said the UKHSA as reported by ANTARA from Sputnik, Friday, May 8.

Currently, British authorities are preparing for the arrival of the MV Hondius in Tenerife, the largest island in the Canary Islands, Spain, where it is scheduled to arrive on Sunday (10/5). British government staff will be in Tenerife to escort their quarantine when they disembark from the ship.

"There are no British nationals on board the ship who are currently experiencing symptoms, but they are still being closely monitored," the UKHSA said.

Patients with hantavirus will be flown back to the UK with strict infection control measures. They will be asked to self-isolate for 45 days after arrival.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that five of the eight suspected cases of viral infection on the MV Hondius ship had been confirmed as the Andes virus, the only type of hantavirus that can be transmitted between humans.

WHO said three people had died from the outbreak. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the public health risk from the outbreak was still low.