Ten Brits linked to a deadly rat virus outbreak on a cruise ship are being flown to the UK to isolate.
The group, from the remote South Atlantic islands of St Helena and Ascension Island, had contact with people affected by the hantavirus outbreak, officials said.
Health officials confirmed the ten Brits are being brought to the UK as a “precautionary measure” so they can get NHS care if they fall ill.
Around 30 cruise passengers disembarked the rat virus-infected MV Hondius on St Helena after the first passenger died of hantavirus.
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They included seven Brits.
The passengers did not know they were contagious, and many flew home to “all corners of the world,” sparking a frantic effort to track them down.
The UK Health Security Agency said the group are already isolating and will continue to do so once they arrive in Britain.
A spokesperson said the relocation is “of some contacts who are already isolating, to places where they can safely self-isolate with access to appropriate specialist medical services.”
Officials stressed none of the ten, who are all British nationals, are currently showing symptoms.
The governor of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Nigel Phillips said the relocated Brits include medics who treated a confirmed case on Ascension Island.
He added that a small number of people who had traveled on the cruise ship were assessed as higher-risk contacts and will also move to the UK to isolate there.
The UKHSA added: “This is because England’s NHS high consequence infectious disease network is well equipped to respond if they become unwell.
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“Currently, none of these contacts are symptomatic and this is precautionary to support communities in UK overseas territories. We will set out where they will isolate in due course.”
The outbreak has sparked concern in the isolated island communities, which are thousands of miles from mainland Britain and have limited specialist healthcare facilities.
Hantavirus infections are rare but can lead to serious respiratory illness in some cases, with symptoms often starting like flu before worsening.
It comes as 20 British nationals from the MV Hondius, together with a German who is a UK resident, and a Japanese passenger, who have been isolating at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral prepare to leave the facility.
They were taken there on Sunday evening, after the ship docked in Tenerife, for a three-day isolation and assessment period.
They will now isolate for a further 42 days.
The UKHSA said of this group: “Public health and clinical specialists have assessed each passenger’s individual circumstances, and, where it is safe and possible, tailored support packages will be provided to enable people to isolate at home.
“Health protection teams across the UK will continue to monitor and support everyone after they leave the facility, with daily contact throughout the isolation period to ensure they can isolate safely.”
Meanwhile, a third rat virus cruise passenger has tested positive for hantavirus with the ship leaving Tenerife with just crew on board.
A Spanish guest tested positive for the deadly virus and is said to be asymptomatic as medics quickly took them to quarantine in Madrid.
Three cruise passengers have already died, with two of them confirmed to have had the virus.
There are now seven positive cases confirmed among guests with an eighth listed as “probable” by the World Health Organization.
The Spaniard was the latest evacuee to test positive for hantavirus with them now isolating at Gomez Ulla hospital.
Deputy Editor & UK News
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