Hantavirus: Public Health Response

Thursday 14th May 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mrs Sharon Hodgson)]

I am updating the House on the outbreak of hantavirus onboard the Dutch cruise ship the MV Hondius, and the action the UK has taken to support British nationals and protect public health.

First, I wish to express our condolences to the families and friends of the three people who have sadly died. I also pay tribute to the passengers and crew who have faced the most difficult of circumstances and showed remarkable resilience.

The UK’s response to this complex incident is being led by the UK Health Security Agency working closely with the World Health Organisation, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Home Office, the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government, the Ministry of Defence, the UK devolved Governments and international partners. Collectively, they are doing everything possible to protect the safety and wellbeing of British nationals, and to provide reassurance to UK citizens.

I am grateful too for the strong collaboration received from our international counterparts in Spain, the Netherlands, EU and WHO.

Current picture

As of 9 am, 14 May 2026, the WHO has reported eleven cases of Hantavirus globally, nine of which are confirmed. Three of these individuals were repatriated from the Hondius to Spain, France and the US. Three cases are British nationals—one on Tristan de Cunha, one in Johannesburg and one in the Netherlands. There have been three deaths related to this incident. No British nationals have died.

Timeline

The MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged vessel operated by a Dutch company, sailed from Argentina and visited the UK overseas territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha.

The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife on 10 May, where support was co-ordinated by Spain and the WHO. We are grateful to the Spanish Government and the people of the Canary Islands for facilitating the safe transfer of passengers. From Tenerife, the passengers were transported to the airport for chartered flights to their home countries.

On arrival in the UK, Hondius passengers were transferred to an isolation facility at Arrowe Park hospital on the Wirral where they received clinical assessments and testing. Arrowe Park was selected on the basis that it has the required facilities including a dedicated block, self-contained units and access to outside space, with proximity to infectious disease units and to hospital support in addition to proximity to Manchester Airport.

Isolation

High-risk contacts have been asked to isolate for up to 45 days, with regular testing and ongoing care provided by UKHSA and NHS teams. This includes 20 British nationals, one UK resident German national and one Japanese citizen returning from Tenerife, and seven British nationals who disembarked the ship at Saint Helena on 24 April. Of those seven, six are isolating in the UK and UKOTs and one person is isolating outside the UK. UKHSA and the NHS is also continuing to support the isolation—in Arrowe Park and individuals’ own homes where it is safe to do so—of individuals who are considered high-risk contacts from the ship or aircraft where cases are known to have been onboard. UKHSA is supporting UKOTs CMOs on their advice for high-risk contacts in UKOTs.

Public health specialists from UKHSA and infectious diseases specialists from the NHS have assessed whether passengers are able to safely isolate at home or whether an alternative suitable location will be arranged.

Where it is safe and possible, they have been provided with tailored support to help them now isolate at home. They will be closely monitored and supported by health protection teams, with daily contact throughout their isolation period.

UKHSA has notified local authority directors of public health and individual MPs where a person had been requested to isolate in their constituency and will continue to do so when people leave Arrowe Park to complete their isolation period in their homes.

UK overseas territories

UKHSA will also support 9 people from the UK overseas territories of Saint Helena and Ascension Island who have been offered the choice of completing their self-isolation in the UK in order to be closer to the NHS specialist infectious diseases units for clinical care if they develop symptoms This is to ensure they can be provided with the best possible support from England’s NHS high consequence infectious disease network should they become unwell. This is precautionary to support the individuals and communities in the UK overseas territories: We are also supporting Ascension Island where one contact has developed symptoms.

We are also aware of an individual who disembarked the MV Hondius at Saint Helena and subsequently travelled to UK overseas territory of the Pitcairn Islands. While this individual is not symptomatic, we are taking a precautionary approach and working with relevant consular and health authorities to explore options for this individual’s repatriation while ensuring appropriate mitigation procedures while on island.

UKHSA continues to work closely with public health teams in the UK overseas territories to identify and support the management of individuals who may have had high-risk contact with cases. This includes putting in place established protocols around contact tracing and isolation measures where necessary. The risk to the general public remains very low in all UK overseas territories.

The FCDO and other UK Government Departments and agencies are working closely to support the Governments of the UK overseas territories visited by the MV Hondius to get medical support to the affected overseas territories. The MOD has worked with UKHSA to provide vital diagnostic supplies, including PCR tests, which were delivered to Ascension Island via a military plane on 7 May. An MOD team is currently also supporting the provision of medical services on Ascension.

Tests, supplies and MOD and UKHSA personnel have also been sent to Saint Helena.

Additionally, on 9 May, an army specialist team of six paratroopers and two military clinicians parachuted on to Tristan da Cunha from an RAF transport aircraft to deliver critical essential oxygen supplies and additional medical support. This extraordinary operation reflects our unwavering commitment to the people of our overseas territories and to British nationals, wherever they are.

The overseas territory Governments have put out public advice with information on the latest situation and support available for anyone who came into contact with passengers from the ship.

Hantavirus

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents and transmitted through exposure to their urine, droppings, or saliva. They can cause a range of illness, from mild, flu-like symptoms to severe respiratory disease. Infection most commonly occurs through inhalation of airborne particles contaminated with rodent excreta and may also occur via broken skin or the eyes, or, very rarely, through rodent bites. In the strains where person-to-person transmission has been observed, it is associated with very close contact.

The strain of virus associated with this outbreak is Andes Hantavirus. This hantavirus is typically associated with rodent species found in South America that are not present in the UK, and it has never been detected in the UK rodent population.

Although this incident brings into sharp relief the dangers of this infectious disease, it is important to note that the UKHSA has been clear throughout that the risk to the British public is very low.

Information to keep the public updated has been published on: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/12/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-hantavirus-outbreak-linked-to-the-dutch-cruise-ship/

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