Hantavirus scare on cruise ship
Twenty British nationals evacuated from the virus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius have begun quarantine at a specialist isolation facility in Britain after being flown off Teneriffe amid fears of a ship-linked hantavirus outbreak.According to a BBC report, the passengers arrived at Manchester Airport on Sunday on a chartered Titan Airways flight before being transferred to Arrow Park Hospital in Merseyside.Health officials said all those evacuated are currently “healthy and symptom-free”, but they will remain under observation for 72 hours before undergoing 42 days of self-isolation at home.
WHO has confirmed deaths linked to the outbreak
The pandemic has already killed three people on a Dutch cruise ship. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed hantavirus infection in six people, including two British citizens, who are currently undergoing treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa.The Andes strain of hantavirus – one of the few types capable of spreading from person to person – was identified among some passengers on the plane, officials said.The MV Hondias was carrying about 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries when it departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1.
Evacuated passengers were tested before boarding the plane
The 20 Britons brought back to the UK were tested for hantavirus before boarding the evacuation flight from Tenerife South Airport. Along with him, a German national living in the UK and a Japanese traveler were also shifted to Arrowe Park Hospital.Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA), said officials may revise the isolation timeline in the coming days based on scientific assessments.“We will be supporting them very closely, not only with the trial, but obviously with the enormous emotional upheaval this is causing,” he said.Health officials have also started contact tracing of persons who may have come in contact with the evacuated passengers.
Emotional support, dedicated isolation flats arranged
Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, said travelers will stay in self-contained accommodation units equipped with phones and essential supplies.Holmes said, “What we’ve learned from past experience is that they will be completely shattered. They’re probably quite traumatized by the whole experience.”An expert medical team will remain on site during the entire quarantine period. Any passengers who develop symptoms will be transferred to the Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit at Royal Liverpool University Hospital.Officials clarified that the hospital is functioning normally and there is no threat to other patients, visitors or staff.
Cases emerge among other nationalities
The outbreak has also affected travelers from many other countries.French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said a French traveler began showing symptoms while returning from Tenerife to Paris.Meanwhile, US health officials said that among the 17 Americans being evacuated, one person developed mild symptoms, while another tested positive in a mild PCR test for the Andes strain.There are also two suspected cases linked to the ship, including a British man who is currently isolated on the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha. The UK military has deployed six paratroopers and two medics to assist local health workers there.
The ship will undergo disinfection in Rotterdam
While most of the passengers disembarked the ship on Sunday to return home, about 30 crew members, a Dutch nurse and the body of a deceased passenger remain on board.WHO said the ship will now sail to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where it will undergo full disinfection procedures.