'I'm a doctor, this is what people must know about the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak'

A cruise ship where three people have died following a viral outbreak is on its way to the Canary Islands after a British crew member and two others were evacuated for emergency treatment . Martin Anstree and two others, a 41-year-old Dutch colleague and a 65-year-old German - were airlifted from the MV Hondius on Wednesday. This follows an outbreak of hantavirus linked to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina , which has claimed the lives of three people . And now one emergency doctor has explained what people need to know about the disease. US doctor Meghan Martin, known on TikTok, where she has 2.6 million followers, as Beachgem10, explained more. "If you are panicking or worried about the hantavirus on the cruise ship, please do not," she said. "Unless you're on the cruise ship, in which case a reasonable amount of concern is definitely warranted." Dr Martin continued by explaining hantavirus usually doesn't spread by person-to-person contact, except for the Andes strain of the virus - and it is this form of the disease which has been identified on board the MV Hondius. "Like a lot of illnesses it starts pretty [non]-specific," she said. "So, for the first four to 10 days it's like fever, fatigue, muscle aches, you can have some headache, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain. And then after the four to 10 days you can develop more respiratory symptoms, cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and then it can progress from there. She continued: "Hantavirus is really uncommon, there's obviously no vaccine for it. Antibiotics won't work because it is a viral infection. Antibiotics work on bacteria. So the treatment is generally going to be supportive. And, unfortunately, the risk of not surviving hantavirus is pretty high. It's between 30 and 40 per cent of the cases don't make it." Dr Martin advised anyone carrying out any kind of cleaning in parts of their home or buildings such as sheds or barns where rodent activity has been seen should wear a respiratory mask. "Otherwise, if you're just living your life, hantavirus is really going to be a very, very, very, very minimal public health risk," she said. The MV Hondius is now on its way to the Canary Islands, and the Foreign Office is arranging a charter flight so the remaining Britons on board the ship who are not displaying symptoms can be repatriated once they dock. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), none of the British citizens on board are currently reporting symptoms, but are being closely monitored, and will be told to isolate for 45 days once they return home. Expedition guide and former police officer Mr Anstee was flown to receive specialist medical care in the Netherlands after being airlifted off the vessel. Speaking from hospital, he told Sky News: “I’m doing OK. I’m not feeling too bad. There are still lots of tests to be done. I have no idea how long I’ll be in the hospital for. I’m in isolation at the moment.” His wife Nicola told the Telegraph it had been “a very traumatic few days”. She added: “He’s relieved to be off the ship. He had it quite mild then it got a bit more serious and now he’s stable again. The fear with this virus is it can deteriorate very quickly so it’s been a bit up and down for him. I don’t believe he’s in imminent danger now but it was horrible.” The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says hantavirus is actually a group of viruses carried by rodents such as mice and rats. It is transmitted by their droppings and urine. Symptoms include: fever extreme fatigue muscle aches stomach pain nausea vomiting diarrhoea shortness of breath In some cases people develop severe breathing difficulties and need to be admitted to hospital. Symptoms usually appear between one and four weeks after exposure, although there are reports of this happening up to eight weeks later. Infections occur when people breathe in air contaminated with virus particles. It can also enter the body through cuts, the eyes, or a rodent bite, although this is rare. Infections are most common in rural and agricultural areas.