A group of experts and a rapid response mobile laboratory have been dispatched to two remote islands at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship

Suspected hantavirus patients are being flown from the British islands of St. Helena and Ascension back to the United Kingdom as a 'precaution.'

The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, leaves the port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Spain May 11, 2026. [Photo/Agencies]

The UK has sent a rapid support team to the remote island of St Helena

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that a three-person team from the the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) was sent to St Helena.

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A group of experts and a rapid response mobile laboratory have been dispatched to two remote islands at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship

When the United Kingdom notified WHO on 2 May 2026 of a cluster of severe respiratory illness aboard a Dutch-flagged cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, passengers from 23…

UKHSA said Britons from St Helena and Ascension Island are expected to arrive in the UK on Sunday evening

People in personal protective suits interact with a member of the crew on the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, after it arrived at the Port of…

The MV Hondius has reached the end of its hantavirus-stricken journey.

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The MV Hondius was still carrying 25 crew members and two medical personnel as it reached Europe's largest port on Monday morning. | World News

Nine UK citizens linked to the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship have returned to Britain and are being monitored by health officials after possible exposure.