New Suspected Hantavirus Case Reported on Tristan da Cunha Amid Cruise Ship Outbreak

A new suspected case of hantavirus was identified in a British national on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha on Friday, following an outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, which stopped at the island on April 15. The British Health Security Agency has not released further details about the individual, who is among passengers and contacts under surveillance after the virus caused three deaths and infected four others across Europe and South Africa.

The deceased include a Dutch couple and a German national, with the Dutch 'patient zero' dying aboard the ship on April 11 and his wife succumbing days later in South Africa. Four infected individuals—two Britons, a Dutch national, and a Swiss national—are receiving treatment in hospitals in the Netherlands, South Africa, and Switzerland. The World Health Organization confirmed it would issue updated figures on suspected and confirmed cases later Friday.

Dutch health authorities said two individuals who had close contact with the deceased Dutch woman, including a flight attendant hospitalized in Amsterdam, tested negative for the virus. The Dutch public health institute is awaiting test results for a third person. Singapore has isolated and tested two of its residents who were aboard the ship, while several U.S. states are monitoring asymptomatic returning passengers.

Although hantavirus is typically rodent-borne, the strain involved in this outbreak can rarely spread between humans. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has activated a Level 3 emergency response, its lowest alert level, and experts emphasize the low risk of widespread transmission. Cruise operator Oceanwide confirmed no symptomatic individuals remain on board the MV Hondius, which is due to dock in Tenerife on Sunday.

The WHO is developing step-by-step protocols for the safe disembarkation and travel of the remaining passengers. British nationals without symptoms will be repatriated and required to isolate for 45 days, according to the UK health service.