Hantavirus outbreak: 20 Brits isolating in UK as new case found off MV Hondius cruise

Three people have died after a hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship MV Hondius sailing through the Atlantic Ocean. One British man with hantavirus is still being cared for in Johannesburg while another is in the Netherlands. Another British national has hantavirus and is isolating where he lives on the remote South Atlantic Island of Tristan da Cunha. All 20 British nationals from the MV Hondius, together with a German who is a UK resident - and a Japanese passenger, were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral on Sunday after the ship docked in Tenerife. Arrowe Park will house the group for three days in total before the passengers are sent home to continue isolating for a further 42 days. If people cannot go home, they will be placed in other accommodation to see out the isolation period. In the UK, Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that passengers at Arrowe Park would be PCR tested to look for any possibility of the virus and undergo other tests to check for antibodies The French government said a French woman evacuated from the cruise ship tested positive for hantavirus, and her health worsened overnight in hospital. The woman was among five French passengers repatriated to France on Sunday from Tenerife. She developed symptoms on the flight to Paris, officials told the French media. Hantavirus infections, normally carried by rodents, can lead to severe respiratory illness and can be fatal. "Hantaviruses cause a range of diseases in humans ranging from mild, flu-like illness to severe respiratory illness or haemorrhagic disease," Public Health England said. The virus spreads through infected rodents' urine or faeces, though it can rarely spread between people. Symptoms typically develop within one to eight weeks of exposure and include fever, fatigue, muscle aches and breathing difficulties. There is no specific treatment or cure but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive medical attention early.