British Nationals From Hantavirus Ship Ordered to Self-Isolate for 45 Days After Returning to UK

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British nationals who were on board the MV Hondius — the Dutch cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak that has now killed three people — are being ordered to self-isolate for 45 days when they return home, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.

Around 19 British passengers were listed on board the ship, along with four British crew members. According to UKHSA, none of the British nationals currently on board are displaying symptoms, but all are being closely monitored as health officials prepare for their return.

What We Know About the Outbreak

The MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 with approximately 150 passengers and crew from 23 nationalities on board. The ship was on a voyage taking in Antarctica and several remote South Atlantic islands. The first death occurred on April 11, when a Dutch passenger died on board. A second passenger — his wife — later died in a hospital in Johannesburg, and a third passenger has also since died.

The WHO has confirmed five cases of hantavirus linked to the ship, with a total of eight suspected cases as of May 8. The specific strain identified is the Andes virus — a variant of hantavirus that is particularly concerning because it is the only known type capable of spreading between people. While person-to-person transmission is rare, it has been documented in close-contact situations, and investigators believe it has played a role in the spread on board the Hondius.

The outbreak has been linked to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina that some passengers took part in before boarding the ship. The index case — a Dutch citizen who was the first to show symptoms — had completed a four-month road trip through Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina before setting sail.

Britons Evacuated, Others Still at Sea

Two British nationals have already been evacuated for medical treatment. A 69-year-old British man was taken to a private medical facility in Sandton, Johannesburg on April 27 and remains in intensive care, though his condition is reported to be improving. A second British passenger, 56-year-old Martin Anstee, was airlifted from the ship on May 6 and flown to the Netherlands for specialist care.

Two other British nationals who left the ship earlier at the remote island of Saint Helena on April 24 are already self-isolating at home in the UK as a precautionary measure. The UKHSA is also contact tracing a seventh British person connected to the vessel who had not yet returned to the country as of this writing.

The ship itself is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, May 10, after the Spanish Ministry of Health approved its arrival following initial objections from local authorities over safety concerns. For those still on board, it has been a lengthy and frightening wait — the ship has been at sea under strict precautionary measures for several weeks.

The UK Government’s Response

The UK government has moved quickly to organise repatriation for British nationals. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is chartering a dedicated repatriation flight at no cost to passengers, with public health and infectious disease specialists from UKHSA and the NHS travelling on board to monitor passengers during the journey.

British nationals who are not showing symptoms will be escorted by UK government staff to the airport and given free passage home, but all will be required to isolate for 45 days upon return and will receive regular testing and contact with healthcare professionals throughout that period.

Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UKHSA, confirmed that contact tracing is actively underway for anyone who may have sat near British passengers on flights connected to the ship.

Is the Public at Risk?

Health officials have been consistent in their messaging: the risk to the general public remains very low. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that the organisation is not expecting the outbreak to become an epidemic, and that only limited spread among close contacts has been observed in historical Andes virus outbreaks.

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents and spread through contact with infected droppings and urine. Most strains do not spread between people. The Andes virus is the notable exception, though even then, transmission typically requires prolonged close contact.

For now, the focus remains on getting British nationals home safely, getting them into isolation, and making sure no one connected to the ship falls through the cracks of an increasingly international contact tracing effort spanning more than a dozen countries.