2 British nationals infected with hantavirus, third suspected

Two British nationals have been confirmed to have contracted hantavirus on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, with a third suspected of infection, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday.

None of the British citizens aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius are currently reporting symptoms, but they are being closely monitored, it added.

The ship is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, according to Spain's Health Ministry. UK government personnel will be on site to assist British nationals disembarking from the vessel. Passengers and crew members who are not showing symptoms of hantavirus will be escorted to the airport by UK officials and provided with free transportation back to the UK.

Hantavirus refers to a group of viruses carried by rodents and spread through contact with their droppings, urine, or saliva. Infections can range from mild flu-like symptoms to severe respiratory disease. Most strains are not easily transmitted between humans, although limited person-to-person transmission has been documented in certain cases.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that five of the eight reported cases aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius had been confirmed as hantavirus infections, while the remaining three were classified as suspected.

The WHO denied that the outbreak was "the start of a COVID pandemic," saying that the risk to the public remained low.