The condition of two Britons evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius following the hantavirus outbreak has improved, according to officials from the World Health Organization. One of the patients—believed to be a 69-year-old British man—was transported to South Africa on April 27 and is receiving treatment at a private clinic in Sandton near Johannesburg. The second, 56-year-old expedition guide Martin Anstey, was evacuated to the Netherlands on Wednesday for specialized medical care.
WHO representative Maria Van Kerkhove said that two patients in the Netherlands, including one Briton, remain in stable condition, while another British patient continues treatment in intensive care in South Africa.
“I am very pleased to report that the patient in South Africa is improving, and the two patients in the Netherlands are in stable condition. That is genuinely good news,” she said during a WHO briefing.
As of Thursday, eight suspected cases have been identified, five of them laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus infections. The outbreak has already been linked to at least three deaths. According to the WHO, the likely source of infection was a birdwatching trip through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay that two passengers took before boarding the vessel.
A private clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa, where a 69-year-old British man is receiving treatment.
Spanish authorities have allowed MV Hondius to dock in the Canary Islands despite concerns among local residents and officials. According to tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship left the waters off Cape Verde on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife overnight into Sunday.
The WHO says the situation onboard has stabilized significantly since the voyage toward Tenerife began. Two doctors are on the ship, along with specialists from the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, who are conducting medical assessments of all passengers and crew members.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that additional cases could still emerge because of the long incubation period associated with the Andes strain of hantavirus linked to the outbreak. Incubation can last up to six weeks.
“While this is a serious incident, the WHO assesses the public health risk as low,” he said, thanking the crew, ship operators, and passengers “who have found themselves in a very difficult and frightening situation.”
WHO representative Abdirahman Mahamud said the organization does not expect the outbreak to escalate into an epidemic. As a reference point, he cited the 2018–2019 Andes virus outbreak in Argentina, when 34 cases were recorded.
Earlier, 30 people from 12 countries, including seven Britons, had already left the ship. This occurred during a stop on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. Among those evacuated was a Dutch woman who later fell ill during onward travel and subsequently died. She had been accompanying the body of her husband, who died onboard on April 11.
On Thursday, a woman in Amsterdam—believed to be a flight attendant who had contact with the deceased passenger—sought medical attention for symptoms that may be linked to the virus. Oceanwide Expeditions said it had contacted all passengers who had disembarked from the vessel.
The UK Health Security Agency had earlier said that two Britons who had already returned home were self-isolating and showed no symptoms. The agency is tracing contacts among passengers who may have been seated near them on flights.
In total, there were 19 British passengers and four UK crew members aboard MV Hondius. The vessel was traveling from Argentina to Cape Verde. British authorities plan to recommend that UK citizens self-isolate for 45 days after returning home. UKHSA chief scientific officer Robin May said the risk to the wider public remains “vanishingly small.”
The UK Foreign Office is preparing a charter flight to evacuate British citizens who remain onboard and are asymptomatic after the vessel arrives in Tenerife. According to UKHSA, none of the British nationals still aboard the ship have developed symptoms so far, though all remain under observation.
Martin Anstey, one of those evacuated to the Netherlands, told Sky News from the hospital that he feels relatively well.
“I’m okay. I don’t feel too bad. There are still many tests ahead. For now, I’m in isolation and I don’t know how long I’ll remain in hospital,” he said.