British Passengers Quarantined in UK After Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship

Twenty British nationals evacuated from the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius arrived at Manchester Airport on a chartered flight Sunday and were transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside for quarantine amid a hantavirus outbreak linked to the vessel. The passengers, along with one German and one Japanese national, were tested for the virus before departure from Tenerife and are currently asymptomatic, according to UK health officials.

The World Health Organization confirmed six hantavirus cases tied to the ship, including the Andes strain capable of human-to-human transmission, with infections reported in the Netherlands, South Africa, France, and the United States. Three deaths have been recorded, and the ship, which carried around 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries, departed Argentina on April 1. A British man on Tristan da Cunha is among the suspected cases, prompting a UK military medical deployment to the island.

The UK Health Security Agency is overseeing a 72-hour observation period at Arrowe Park, after which evacuees will self-isolate at home for 42 days. Contact tracing is underway for individuals exposed to the returnees. The MV Hondius, still carrying 30 crew members, a Dutch nurse, and a deceased passenger, is en route to Rotterdam for full disinfection under WHO guidance.

Officials from Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust said evacuees are being housed in self-contained units with medical support and mental health services available. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital will manage any symptomatic cases. The court will resume hearing on Tuesday.