Brits face race in opposition to time to flee ‘rat virus’ hell ship – what it is advisable know

Brits are being raced off the MV Hondius as it docks in Tenerife, as they face 45 days in lockdown due to an outbreak of the deadly hantavirus on the cruise ship

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The world is holding its breath as a luxury cruise has turned into a floating nightmare. The MV Hondius is currently the centre of a global health alert following a deadly outbreak of Hantavirus.

With three dead, passengers being evacuated in “bubble buses,” and a 45-day quarantine waiting for Brits on home soil, here is the lowdown on the South Atlantic rat virus crisis. The tragedy has reportedly been traced back to a Dutch birdwatching duo, Leo Schilperoord, 70, and his wife Mirjam.

The couple, from the tiny village of Haulerwijk, had been trekking across South America for five months before boarding the £19,000-a-head Atlantic Odyssey cruise.

Argentine officials believe the pair caught the bug at a rubbish tip outside Ushuaia. While locals avoid the site, it is a magnet for twitchers hunting the rare Darwin’s caracara bird.

Experts think the couple inhaled dust contaminated by the droppings of long-tailed pygmy rice rats. The rodents carry the Andes strain of Hantavirus – the only version known to jump from person to person.

Local guide Gastón Bretti told Ansa Latina: “It is common for birdwatchers to visit landfills because there are many birds there. It’s a mountain of waste that today far exceeds the limit initially established by the authorities.”

So far, three people have died, including Leo Schilperoord, who fell ill on April 6 with fever and stomach pain and died on board five days later.

His wife Mirjam died in South Africa while trying to fly home after leaving the ship with her husband’s body. An unnamed German national was confirmed as the third fatality.

The total number of confirmed or suspected cases has hit 11. They include a woman in Alicante, Spain, who reportedly caught the virus after sitting near a patient on a flight to Johannesburg.

A race against time is underway to get 22 Brits off the ship before bad weather batters the Canary Islands. The ship is docking at Granadilla, Tenerife, in the early hours of Sunday morning, where a military-style evacuation is planned.

Passengers will be ferried to shore in groups of five, before being whisked directly to Tenerife South Airport in isolated vehicles. A free, government-chartered plane will fly them to the UK under “strict infection control.”

Once home, the Brits face a gruelling 45-day quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside – the same facility used for Wuhan Covid evacuees in 2020.

The US approach is slightly different as 17 Americans are being flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska.

Despite having the world-class National Quarantine Unit on standby, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has sparked debate by saying they will not require mandatory quarantine or testing for those without symptoms.

A CDC official said: “It is not recommended to test people that do not have symptoms. We are not quarantining anybody.”

Hantavirus has a terrifying 40% mortality rate. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging calm.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has arrived in Spain to oversee the disembarkation, saying: “So far, the risk for the population of Canary Islands and globally remains low.”

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Chief Scientific Officer Professor Robin May added: “The risk to the general population remains very low and the public can be reassured that established infection control measures will be put in place.”

Photos from inside the MV Hondius show a surreal scene. Despite the deaths, the remaining 147 passengers have been pictured watching football, drinking tea, and whale watching to pass the time.

Travel blogger Jake Rosmarin, who is stuck on board, issued a tearful plea on social media. He said: “We’re not just a story, we’re not just headlines, we’re people. People with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.”

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