Britain quarantines citizens on infected ship after hantavirus outbreak

Elaha Sun May 2026 4 months ago 576

These individuals are set to be transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside—a facility that was previously used as a quarantine site at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.


The MV Hondius is expected to dock in the Canary Islands on Sunday morning, and the 22 remaining British citizens on board will be repatriated to their country shortly afterward via a chartered flight.


Officials from the UK Health Security Agency and the Foreign Office will be present when the ship docks, and before passengers disembark, British nationals on board will be tested for hantavirus.


If their test results are negative and they show no symptoms, they will be transferred directly to the special return flight, which will also carry health workers.


Five cases of hantavirus infection have been confirmed so far, including one of the three passengers who died during this voyage.


The World Health Organization has described this outbreak as a "serious event" but has emphasized that the risk to the public is low and it is not similar to the coronavirus.


The organization announced on Saturday that there are currently no symptomatic passengers on board the ship.


The MV Hondius is a Dutch expedition cruise ship used for adventurous trips to polar and remote regions. It is operated by the company Oceanwide Expeditions.


The Andes strain of hantavirus has been identified in several individuals on this ship.

Hantavirus is typically transmitted through rodents such as mice, but experts believe it may also have spread among people who had close contact. This disease is currently observed in parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa.


Symptoms of this disease can include fever, severe fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting, and shortness of breath—symptoms that usually appear two to four weeks after exposure to the virus.

Britain has announced that British passengers and crew members from a Dutch cruise ship at the center of a deadly "hantavirus" outbreak will be transferred to a health facility in the country for quarantine.

ilaha

Maybe you are interested

    Comments

Leave a Reply

About Us

Address 2933 41k St
London, UK

Contact
+1 (825) 973-2079
[email protected]

News Letter

Latest Tweet

Popular Categories

Education Sport War Afghanistan Agriculture World Women USA Election