Britons on board the MV Hondius cruise ship where there is a Hantavirus outbreak are set to return to the UK.
The 22 passengers are expected to reach Tenerife on Sunday, with the hope of flying them back to the UK the same day.
They will be tested on the ship before they disembark, it is understood, and they will then be taken directly from the ship to the plane.
The transfer is expected to take place on the same day, although transfer time to the UK could be impacted by the time the ship lands and the weather.
They will self-isolate for 45 days.
It comes after a woman in Spain is the latest person to be tested for a suspected hantavirus infection following an outbreak on a cruise ship.
The suspected case involves a woman who was a passenger on the same flight as a patient who died in Johannesburg after travelling on the MV Hondius and contracting the virus, Spain’s health secretary said on Friday.
Key Points
- 22 Britons on board cruise ship hit by outbreak could be flown back to UK on Sunday
- What are the symptoms of hantavirus and how is it treated?
- Third British national has suspected hantavirus linked to cruise ship
- Soldiers deployed to help island of St Helena
- How does Spain plan to evacuate passengers?
What to know about hantavirus as illness linked with three deaths on Atlantic cruise ship
07:00 , Harriette Boucher
What to know about hantavirus as illness linked with three deaths on cruise ship
WHO reacts to fears of a COVID-style hantavirus pandemic
06:00 , Harriette BoucherMeasures to contain spread of hantavirus could be take from 'measles or Elbola', expert says
05:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainKrutika Kuppalli, associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US, who formerly worked on mpox protocols at the World Health Organization, said measures to contain the spread of hantavirus could be taken from previous outbreaks.
“It’s the same principle as for measles, or Ebola. Contact tracing doesn’t change,” she said.
Soldiers deployed to help island of St Helena
04:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainOur health editor Rebecca Thomas reports:
British military personnel and equipment have been deployed to the islands.
As officials trace contacts from the MV Hondius and those who disembarked the ship, it is understood that British military personnel have been deployed to the islands with equipment to provide support to those on the ground.
Officials are ensuring that members of the population on the islands who did come into contact with passengers are appropriately graded to understand their level of risk with passengers.
It is understood that the virus spreads through close contact.
Rats don’t deserve to be public enemy No 1 – they can be as playful as puppies
03:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainThanks to a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, rodents are getting a bad rap – and that’s nothing new, says Joe Shute, who is a staunch admirer of these furry pariahs:
Rats don’t deserve to be public enemy number one – they can be as playful as puppies
A timeline of the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak and when passengers fell sick
02:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainAn outbreak of the rare hantavirus unfolded over weeks on a cruise ship as it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.
At least three passengers have died and several others are sick and were evacuated from the ship. Health authorities are trying to trace passengers who left the ship previously and people who might have had contact with them.
More than 140 passengers and crew members are still aboard the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius as it heads for Spain's Canary Islands.
Hantavirus is a rodent-borne infection that in rare cases can be transmitted from person to person, though the World Health Organization says the risk to the wider public is low because the virus can’t easily be passed between people.
A timeline of the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak and when passengers fell sick
Two New Jersey residents were potentially exposed to a person infected with Hantavirus
01:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainThe New Jersey Department of Health been notified by the CDC that two New Jersey residents were potentially exposed to a person infected with hantavirus after that individual departed from the cruise ship MV Hondius.
The New Jersey Department of Health been notified by the CDC that two New Jersey residents were potentially exposed to a person infected with hantavirus after that individual departed from the cruise ship MV Hondius. The residents were not passengers on the ship, and the…
— Governor Mikie Sherrill (@GovSherrillNJ) May 8, 2026
What we don't know about the hantavirus outbreak as the cruise ship nears Spanish territory
00:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainCountries around the world are preparing to deal with the 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands.
The vessel is expected to reach the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, early Sunday morning.
At least three passengers have died, and several other people have been infected.
Hantavirus is usually spread by the inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure. The World Health Organization says the risk to the wider public from the outbreak is low, but the Andes virus implicated in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases.
What we don't know about the hantavirus outbreak as the cruise ship nears Spanish territory
Hantavirus outbreak: Government hopes to fly 22 Britons back to UK on Sunday
23:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainSome 22 British passengers and crew on board a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of hantavirus are expected to reach Tenerife on Sunday, with the hope of flying them back to the UK the same day.
Officials from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Foreign Office will greet the MV Hondius ship when it docks in the Canary Islands, with Britons on board tested for hantavirus before they disembark.
If people test negative and are not displaying symptoms, they will be taken straight to a dedicated repatriation flight, with the hope they will be flown back to the UK the same day.
That flight will be staffed by medical professionals and will carry equipment and medicines in case people fall ill.The ship is currently on track to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, depending on weather conditions as it sails on a route from the coast off Cape Verde.
The majority of Britons returning are expected to self-isolate at home but the UKHSA is making arrangements for people to stay at other facilities if that is not possible.
It said those details will be released at a further date.
The hantavirus cruise ship and the contamination risk a tourism surge puts on Antarctica
22:00 , Rebecca WhittakerAntarctica's pristine, frozen landscapes are experiencing a surge in tourism, fuelled by growing fears that climate change is causing irreversible melting. However, experts are now warning that this influx of visitors brings an increased risk of contamination, illness, and other potential damage to the continent's delicate ecosystem.
Read more here:
The hantavirus cruise ship and the risk a tourism surge puts on Antarctica
What are the symptoms of hantavirus and how is it treated?
21:30 , Rebecca WhittakerWhat are the symptoms?
- Fever
- Extreme fatigue
- Muscle aches
- Stomach pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Shortness of breath
- Symptoms usually appear between 2 to 4 weeks after being exposed to the virus, but there are reports of symptoms occurring up to 40 days after exposure.
How is the virus treated?
There is currently no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus infections.
Treatment is supportive and based on symptoms, such as hospital care and respiratory support for breathing difficulties.
Third British national has suspected hantavirus linked to cruise ship
21:00 , Rebecca Whittaker
Third British national has suspected hantavirus linked to cruise ship
Health experts write guidance to contain first ship-borne hantavirus outbreak
20:30 , Rebecca WhittakerAs the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak sails towards Tenerife, World Health Organization officials are racing to draw up step-by-step guidance for what should happen next for the nearly 150 passengers when they finally reach land on Sunday.
Because this is the first ever hantavirus outbreak recorded on a cruise ship, official say new protocols are needed.
WHO officials and hantavirus experts said the outbreak could be managed by adapting standard public health steps, like isolating sick passengers or those who may have been in contact with them.
None of the passengers on the ship now have symptoms, the ship's operator has said.
Officials are also seeking tips from Argentina, where a previous outbreak of the Andes virus, the same strain as on the ship, was snuffed out in 2019.
“If we follow public health measures and the lessons we learned from Argentina we can break this chain of transmission. This doesn't need to be a large epidemic,” Abdi Rahman Mahamud, director of the WHO's alert and response coordination department, said.
Hantavirus is giving me Covid flashbacks – so how worried should I be?
20:00 , Rebecca WhittakerThe sight of people in hazmat suits alongside phrases like ‘self-isolation’ dominating the airwaves is bringing back troubling memories for Katie Rosseinsky, who considers whether we should all start stocking up on toilet roll.
Read more here:
Hantavirus is giving me Covid flashbacks – so how worried should I be?
Infection risk between sexual partners 10 times greater than household contacts
19:30 , Rebecca WhittakerProf Paul Hunter, of the University of East Anglia told the Independent if hantavirus could spread through coughs and sneezes “we would see much greater person-to person transmission and more outbreaks.”
Prof Hunter said he was “skeptical of a person-to-person explanation” for the spread of this hantavirus outbreak at first. But said this Andes virus outbreak will provide better evidence that human to human transmission does occur.
One study in the Journal of Infectious Disease found an increased infection risk between sexual partners that was 10 times greater than household contacts for the Andes strain of hantavirus.
Prof Hunter explained this shows close contact is needed for human to human transmission.
“If coughs and sneezes spread this disease I would not expect such a discrepancy between sexual and non-sexual household contacts,” Prof Hunter told the Independent.
“But that doesn’t mean to say it could never happen,” he added.
Watch: WHO reacts to fears of a COVID-style hantavirus pandemic
19:00 , Rebecca WhittakerNo evidence MV Hondius captain failed protocol
18:45 , Maryam Zakir-HussainOur health editor Rebecca Thomas reports:
It is understood that UK officials have not seen evidence that the MV Hondius captain did not follow protocols.
UK health officials are working to trace contacts and repatriate British nationals following the outbreak of Hantavirus when the ship lands on Sunday.
The outbreak has led to at least nine confirmed cases and three deaths so far.
Recap: Seven British nationals disembarked the ship at St Helena
18:30 , Rebecca WhittakerHealth chiefs are aware of seven British nationals who disembarked the ship at St Helena on 24 April.
Four of these individuals remain in St Helena. A seventh individual has been traced outside of the UK in Tristan da Cunha.
Two of those people have returned to the UK independently and are isolating at home in the UK, but are not showing any symptoms.
They are receiving advice and support from UKHSA and have been advised to self-isolate.
Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at UKHSA, said:“This is an evolving situation, and we are working closely with partners to support British Nationals on board the MV Hondius.
“The risk to the general population remains very low and the public can be reassured that established infection control measures will be put in place at every step of the journey to ensure the safe repatriation of British passengers on board.”
Soldiers deployed to help island of St Helena
18:15 , Maryam Zakir-HussainOur health editor Rebecca Thomas reports:
British military personnel and equipment have been deployed to the islands.
As officials trace contacts from the MV Hondius and those who disembarked the ship, it is understood that British military personnel have been deployed to the islands with equipment to provide support to those on the ground.
Officials are ensuring that members of the population on the islands who did come into contact with passengers are appropriately graded to understand their level of risk with passengers.
It is understood that the virus spreads through close contact.
Pictured: Dockers protest arrival of hantavirus-hit cruise
18:00 , Rebecca WhittakerProtesters in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, have gathered outside the parliament building in a stand against the hantavirus-hit cruise ship stopping on the island.
Tenerife is preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew on Sunday.
Images show protesters holding placards during a protest by port workers over lack of information ahead of the arrival of the ship and dockers hold banners reading “Without protocol, no safety”.
Isolating Brits will not be taking public transport
17:58 , Maryam Zakir-HussainOur health editor Rebecca Thomas reports:
Twenty-two Brits abroad, the MV Hondius are set to return to the UK when the ship docks in the Canary Islands on Sunday.
Passengers will be tested on the ship before they disembark, it is understood, and they will then be taken directly from the ship to the plane.
The transfer is expected to take place on the same day, and so British passengers will be returning to the UK that day, it is understood. Although transfer time to the UK could be impacted by the time the ship lands and the weather.
They will self-isolate for 45 days.
Officials are still working through the details of the self-isolation and expect to publish those shortly, once they have spoken with passengers.
However, it will vary depending on the individual details.
Any patients who have symptoms will receive hospital care in the Canary Islands, it is understood, and then arrangements will be made to bring them back to the UK when appropriate, depending on the severity of the illness, it is understood.
UK officials are not treating the isolation situation like COVID.
'No possibility of contact at any time' between cruise passengers and people in Canary Islands, health chiefs say
17:30 , Rebecca WhittakerThere will be “no possibility of contact at any time” between ship passengers and the people of the Canary Islands, Virginia Barcones, Spain's head of emergency services said.
Spanish officials reassured residents with concerns about the evacuation of the MV Hondius in Tenerrife, Canary Islands.
Health chiefs said passengers would be evacuated from the ship only to go directly to the airport for their country of origin, and would travel in isolated and guarded vehicles.
The parts of the airport they travel through will also be cordoned-off.
But som residents drew parallels to the early months of 2020, despite the WHO and Spanish health experts stressing the low risk of the outbreak turning into something much bigger.
“The people of the Canary Islands, the men and women living there, can rest assured that there will be absolutely no possibility of contact at any time," Barcones said.
Recap: Spain detects suspected hantavirus case in Alicante
17:00 , Rebecca WhittakerA woman in the southeastern Spanish province of Alicante has symptoms consistent with a hantavirus infection, Spain’s secretary of state for health Javier Padilla told reporters on Friday.
The suspected case involves a woman who was a passenger on the same flight as a patient who died in Johannesburg after travelling on the MV Hondius cruise ship and contracting the virus, Padilla said.
Padilla added that health authorities in the Valencia region were tracing the people the woman has been in contact with over the past few days.
The woman has been taken to a hospital in Alicante, where she remains in isolation, he added. Her symptoms included coughing and "general malaise".
The official said the Spanish woman was sitting two rows behind the cruise ship passenger, but the contact between them "was brief" since the passenger had only been "on board for a short time" during the flight.
Recap: Singaporean residents test negative for Andes strain
16:30 , Rebecca WhittakerTwo Singaporean residents who were onboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested negative for the virus, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said.
The CDA's National Public Health Laboratory conducted testing on multiple samples collected from the individuals and confirmed that hantavirus, including the Andes virus, was not detected, it said.
It comes after the CDA said one of the two Singaporean residents had a “runny nose” while the other was “asymptomatic”.
One was a a 67-year-old man who arrived in Singapore on 2 May and the other was a 65-year-old man, who arrived in Singapore on 6 May.
Both had disembarked from the ship and were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on 25 April 2026.
As a precaution, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure and will undergo further testing before being released. They will then be monitored through phone surveillance for the remainder of a 45-day period, the maximum incubation period for hantavirus exposure.
"The risk to the general public in Singapore remains low," the agency said, adding it was closely monitoring the situation.
Mapped: The countries affected by the cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak that has killed three people
16:00 , Rebecca WhittakerMore than a dozen countries have been linked to the hantavirus outbreak, as the WHO confirms five cases of the disease. Alex Croft reports:
Mapped: Countries affected by cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak that has killed three
President of the Canary Islands says it's 'time to collaborate' and help passengers on MV Hondius
15:28 , Rebecca WhittakerThe president of the Canary Islands said it is “time to collaborate” and allow the MV Hondius to dock in Tenerife.
Fernando Clavijo was initially critical of the Spanish government for allowing the hantavirus hit ship to dock. But now he wants to “lend a hand.”
"[The Canary Islands] has been critical, and continues to be so, of the Spanish Government's decision regarding the MV Hondius," he posted on X.
"But now it's time to act responsibly to ensure that operations go smoothly, that the passengers spend the least possible time in the islands, and that they can continue their journey to their countries.
"It's time to collaborate, protect the islands and the people of the islands, and lend a hand."
#Canarias ha sido crítica, y sigue siéndolo, con la decisión del Gobierno de España sobre el MV Hondius.
— Fernando Clavijo (@FClavijoBatlle) May 8, 2026
Pero ahora toca actuar con responsabilidad para garantizar que la operativa salga bien, que los pasajeros estén el menor tiempo posible en #Canarias y que puedan continuar… pic.twitter.com/HO8G9W31ly
How does Spain plan to evacuate passengers?
15:20 , Rebecca WhittakerThe hantavirus-hit cruise, MV Hondius, is expected to arrive in Tenerife on Sunday at around midday, according to Spanish officials.
The ship, which is carrying 88 passengers and 61 crew members including a deceased German national, is not expected to dock at port but will instead sit at anchor nearby, with people onboard taken to land on smaller boats.
Spain's central government said this was a request from the island's local authorities, though it stressed there was no indication that docking would have implied a public health risk.
Once they arrive at the port of Granadilla, in Tenerife's south, they will be moved to the island's main airport about 10 minutes away.
They will likely be transferred to the airport on sealed-off buses whose drivers and emergency crew will be clad in protective gear, according to health officials.
Calls for Antarctic tourism boom to be better regulated
15:08 , Rebecca WhittakerTourism in the Antarctic Peninsula is a niche but booming industry, but growing numbers of visitors bring risks including disease, invasive species and pollution to the delicate ecosystems of Antarctica that’s full of bird life, sea lions and whales.
The outbreak of a deadly strain of the hantavirus on a cruise ship that sailed from the southern tip of Argentina across the southern Atlantic and up to the Cape Verde islands, comes days before 29 nations gather in Japan to discuss tighter guardrails around Antarctic tourism.
The meeting will discuss whether the Antarctic Treaty System governing the vast ice-covered continent requires a more robust framework to regulate tourism.
It already sets out guidelines for medical protocols and insurance cover for tourism operators in the region.
"Definitely, now, after what's happened, there'll be a need to update their medical guidelines," said Amy White, a vice president at VIKAND Solutions, which provides medical services to the maritime industry.
Measures to contain spread of hantavirus could be take from 'measles or Elbola', expert says
14:57 , Rebecca WhittakerKrutika Kuppalli, associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US, who formerly worked on mpox protocols at the World Health Organization, said measures to contain the spread of hantavirus could be taken from previous outbreaks.
“It’s the same principle as for measles, or Ebola. Contact tracing doesn’t change,” she said.
Health officials to split passengers into high and low risk when they arrive
14:55 , Rebecca WhittakerPassengers arriving into Tenerife will be split into high-risk and low-risk contacts based on their interactions with sick travellers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
WHO is currently writing step-by-step guidance for what should happen next for the nearly 150 passengers when they finally reach land such as isolating sick passengers.
But some governments are already making plans. The UK will repatriate citizens on a flight under strict infection control measures, and then passengers will isolate for 45 days, with testing as required.
Health experts write guidance to contain first ship-borne hantavirus outbreak
14:43 , Rebecca WhittakerAs the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak sails towards Tenerife, World Health Organization officials are racing to draw up step-by-step guidance for what should happen next for the nearly 150 passengers when they finally reach land on Sunday.
Because this is the first ever hantavirus outbreak recorded on a cruise ship, official say new protocols are needed.
WHO officials and hantavirus experts said the outbreak could be managed by adapting standard public health steps, like isolating sick passengers or those who may have been in contact with them.
None of the passengers on the ship now have symptoms, the ship's operator has said.
Officials are also seeking tips from Argentina, where a previous outbreak of the Andes virus, the same strain as on the ship, was snuffed out in 2019.
“If we follow public health measures and the lessons we learned from Argentina we can break this chain of transmission. This doesn't need to be a large epidemic,” Abdi Rahman Mahamud, director of the WHO's alert and response coordination department, said.
Pictured: Dockers protest arrival of hantavirus-hit cruise
14:37 , Rebecca WhittakerProtesters in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, have gathered outside the parliament building in a stand against the hantavirus-hit cruise ship stopping on the island.
Tenerife is preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew on Sunday. Spain is coordinating with governments whose citizens are on board the ship about evacuation plans.
Sky News has reported protesters are chanting "We want work, not illness.”
Images show protesters holding placards during a protest by port workers over lack of information ahead of the arrival of the ship and dockers hold banners reading “Without protocol, no safety”.
Singaporean residents who tested negative will still need to isolate
14:32 , Rebecca WhittakerThe two Singaporean residents who tested negative for hantavirus will still need to isolate for 45 days, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said.
Both had disembarked from the ship and were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on 25 April 2026.
As a precaution, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure and will undergo further testing before being released. They will then be monitored through phone surveillance for the remainder of a 45-day period, the maximum incubation period for hantavirus exposure.
"The risk to the general public in Singapore remains low," the agency said, adding it was closely monitoring the situation.
Singaporean residents test negative for Andes strain
14:28 , Rebecca WhittakerTwo Singaporean residents who were onboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested negative for the virus, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said.
The CDA's National Public Health Laboratory conducted testing on multiple samples collected from the individuals and confirmed that hantavirus, including the Andes virus, was not detected, it said.
It comes after the CDA said one of the two Singaporean residents had a “runny nose” while the other was “asymptomatic”.
One was a a 67-year-old man who arrived in Singapore on 2 May and the other was a 65-year-old man, who arrived in Singapore on 6 May.
Both had disembarked from the ship and were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on 25 April 2026.
As a precaution, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure and will undergo further testing before being released. They will then be monitored through phone surveillance for the remainder of a 45-day period, the maximum incubation period for hantavirus exposure.
"The risk to the general public in Singapore remains low," the agency said, adding it was closely monitoring the situation.
Minister of health in Spain says passengers are 'doing well' and are 'eager to return'
14:24 , Rebecca WhittakerThe minister of health in Spain, Mónica García, has spoken with passengers on the MV Hondius, which has been hit by a hantavirus outbreak.
“They are doing well and are eager to return. We are working to welcome them and receive them with the best health guarantees,” she said in a post on X.
He estado hablando por videoconferencia con los pasajeros españoles del MV Hondius para interesarnos por su situación, transmitirles apoyo y tranquilidad e informarles del dispositivo de evacuación.
— Mónica García (@Monica_Garcia_G) May 8, 2026
Se encuentran bien y tienen ganas de volver. Trabajamos para darles la… pic.twitter.com/ITIjdZf1u9
Watch: WHO warn six week incubation period could mean further hantavirus cases reported
14:17 , Rebecca WhittakerInfection risk between sexual partners 10 times greater than household contacts
14:00 , Rebecca WhittakerProf Paul Hunter, of the University of East Anglia told the Independent if hantavirus could spread through coughs and sneezes “we would see much greater person-to person transmission and more outbreaks.”
Prof Hunter said he was “skeptical of a person-to-person explanation” for the spread of this hantavirus outbreak at first. But said this Andes virus outbreak will provide better evidence that human to human transmission does occur.
One study in the Journal of Infectious Disease found an increased infection risk between sexual partners that was 10 times greater than household contacts for the Andes strain of hantavirus.
Prof Hunter explained this shows close contact is needed for human to human transmission.
“If coughs and sneezes spread this disease I would not expect such a discrepancy between sexual and non-sexual household contacts,” Prof Hunter told the Independent.
“But that doesn’t mean to say it could never happen,” he added.
Spain detects suspected hantavirus case in Alicante
13:56 , Tom BarnesA woman in the southeastern Spanish province of Alicante has symptoms consistent with a hantavirus infection, Spain’s secretary of state for health Javier Padilla told reporters on Friday.
The suspected case involves a woman who was a passenger on the same flight as a patient who died in Johannesburg after travelling on the MV Hondius cruise ship and contracting the virus, Padilla said.
Padilla added that health authorities in the Valencia region were tracing the people the woman has been in contact with over the past few days.
The woman has been taken to a hospital in Alicante, where she remains in isolation, he added. Her symptoms included coughing and "general malaise".
The official said the Spanish woman was sitting two rows behind the cruise ship passenger, but the contact between them "was brief" since the passenger had only been "on board for a short time" during the flight.
Singapore tests two resident's for hantavirus
13:45 , Rebecca WhittakerTwo Singapore residents that had been onboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, are being tested for hantavirus.
Both individuals have been isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) while they await their results.
One is a a 67-year-old man who arrived in n Singapore on 2 May and the other is a 65-year-old man, who arrived in Singapore on 6 May.
“One has a runny nose but is otherwise well, and the other is asymptomatic. The risk to the general public in Singapore is currently low,” according to the Communicable Diseases Agency.
Both had disembarked from the ship and were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on 25 April 2026.
Watch: WHO investigate past movements of birdwatching couple linked to hantavirus outbreak
13:30 , Rebecca WhittakerCould cruise boat hantavirus be the next global pandemic? Experts sound off on if Covid-era lockdowns could return
13:15 , Rebecca WhittakerAs the world continues to monitor an outbreak of deadly hantavirus on a Dutch cruise ship off the West African coast, many on social media have wondered if the rare, rodent-borne illness could trigger the next global pandemic and reinstate Covid-era lockdowns.
Researchers are tracing passengers who were potentially exposed to the virus in Georgia, California, Arizona, Virginia and Texas and in other countries around the world.
But experts still say there is little reason to believe hantavirus - and even this rare strain - will spread widely.
Could cruise boat hantavirus be the next global pandemic? Experts sound off
MV Hondius: Hantavirus is on the rise in Argentina and scientists think they know why
13:00 , Rebecca WhittakerArgentine officials and experts are scrambling to determine if their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has gripped Atlantic cruise, MV Hondius.
The health emergency aboard the vessel coincides with a surge of hantavirus cases in Argentina, which local public health researchers attribute to the recently accelerating effects of climate change. Argentina, the departure point for the Antarctic cruise, is consistently ranked by the World Health Organisation as having the highest incidence of this rare, rodent-borne disease in Latin America.
Read more here:
MV Hondius: Hantavirus is on the rise in Argentina and scientists think they know why
What are the symptoms of hantavirus and how is it treated?
12:45 , Rebecca WhittakerWhat are the symptoms?
- Fever
- Extreme fatigue
- Muscle aches
- Stomach pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Shortness of breath
- Symptoms usually appear between 2 to 4 weeks after being exposed to the virus, but there are reports of symptoms occurring up to 40 days after exposure.
How is the virus treated?
There is currently no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus infections.
Treatment is supportive and based on symptoms, such as hospital care and respiratory support for breathing difficulties.
Protesters stand against hantavirus-hit cruise arriving in Tenerife
12:42 , Rebecca WhittakerProtesters in Tenerife have gathered outside the parliament building in a stand against the hantavirus-hit cruise ship stopping on the island.
Tenerife is preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew on Sunday. Spain is coordinating with governments whose citizens are on board the ship about evacuation plans.
Sky News has reported protesters are chanting "We want work, not illness.”
However, Virginia Barcones, Spain's head of emergency services said there will be “no possibility of contact at any time” between ship passengers and the people of the Canary Islands.
Tenerife is preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew this weekend
12:30 , Rebecca WhittakerSpanish authorities are preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations.
The ship is expected to reach the Spanish island of Tenerife by Sunday.
“They will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area,” said Virginia Barcones, Spain's head of emergency services.
Spain is coordinating with governments whose citizens are on board the ship about evacuation plans, Barcones added.
The British government said it will send a plane to evacuate the nearly two dozen British citizens still on the MV Hondius.
The United States has also agreed to send a plane to the Canary Islands to repatriate its 17 citizens from the cruise ship, she said.
'No possibility of contact at any time' between cruise passengers and people in Canary Islands, health chiefs say
12:27 , Rebecca WhittakerThere will be “no possibility of contact at any time” between ship passengers and the people of the Canary Islands, Virginia Barcones, Spain's head of emergency services said.
Spanish officials reassured residents with concerns about the evacuation of the MV Hondius in Tenerrife, Canary Islands.
Health chiefs said passengers would be evacuated from the ship only to go directly to the airport for their country of origin, and would travel in isolated and guarded vehicles.
The parts of the airport they travel through will also be cordoned-off.
But som residents drew parallels to the early months of 2020, despite the WHO and Spanish health experts stressing the low risk of the outbreak turning into something much bigger.
“The people of the Canary Islands, the men and women living there, can rest assured that there will be absolutely no possibility of contact at any time," Barcones said.
