Tristan da Cunha, United Kingdom. A new suspected case of hantavirus was identified in a British national on Tristan da Cunha on Friday as efforts continued to trace passengers from the MV Hondius and their close contacts.
Suspected case on remote island
The British health security agency did not disclose further details about the suspected case on Tristan da Cunha, home to around 200 people. The cruise ship made a stop on the island on April 15.
Deaths and confirmed infections
Three people have died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius: a Dutch couple and a German national. Four others confirmed to be infected—two Britons, a Dutch national and a Swiss national—are being treated in hospitals in the Netherlands, South Africa and Switzerland.
A Dutch woman died shortly after she left the ship on April 24. She was the wife of the Dutch man described as “patient zero,” who died on the ship on April 11.
WHO and national health updates
The World Health Organisation said it would provide an update on the latest suspected and confirmed case numbers later on Friday.
Dutch health authorities said on Thursday that two people who had been close to the woman before she was taken off a plane in Johannesburg on April 25, due to her deteriorating medical condition, had tested negative for the virus. The World Health Organisation said one of them was a flight attendant who had been admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam with symptoms of a possible infection.
The Dutch public health institute said it was still waiting for clear test results for a third case on Friday.
Transmission
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents, but the strain identified in passengers of the Hondius can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.
What steps are authorities taking to trace passengers and close contacts linked to the MV Hondius outbreak?