Cruise Passengers in UK Isolation After Hantavirus Outbreak
Twenty British passengers from a cruise ship hit by a rare hantavirus outbreak have been settled into an isolation facility in Wirral, Merseyside, after being flown home from Tenerife. The group arrived on a chartered Titan Airways flight at Manchester Airport on Sunday evening, marking the start of a carefully managed repatriation effort.
The facility, Arrowe Park Hospital, was previously used as a Covid quarantine site. It now houses the UK passengers, along with one German resident and one Japanese national, who were all tested for hantavirus before boarding. The Japanese passenger was accepted at Tokyo’s request and will follow UK Health Security Agency guidelines for isolation.
Spain’s health minister confirmed that evacuations would wrap up Monday, with additional flights arriving from Australia and the Netherlands. An Australian flight will carry six passengers from Tenerife, while a Dutch flight will bring 18. Both planes will also transport nationals from countries that did not arrange their own repatriation.
The outbreak has affected the MV Hondius, a cruise ship. According to the World Health Organization, eight people who have left the ship have fallen ill, six of whom have confirmed hantavirus. Three people have died: a Dutch couple and a German national. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that one of 17 repatriated Americans tested positive for the Andes strain, with a second showing mild symptoms. France’s health minister also reported a positive French passenger whose condition is worsening.
On the flight to the UK, strict measures were in place. Passengers, crew, and medical teams wore full personal protective equipment. The isolation facility offers self-contained flats with bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and lounges. Over 72 hours, passengers will receive clinical assessments and testing.
Wirral NHS trust chief executive Janelle Holmes stressed that no symptomatic passengers are at the hospital. “The risk to the general public is really low,” she said. “Hantavirus requires very close contact to spread. It’s not like Covid or flu.” If symptoms develop, passengers will be transferred to Royal Liverpool University Hospital’s tropical diseases unit.
Passengers will remain in self-isolation for 45 days and cannot use public transport. Public health teams will check on them daily. Public health minister Sharon Hodgson added: “None of the passengers are symptomatic. With our monitoring and isolation measures, the risk remains extremely low.”