Brit missing after leaving hantavirus cruise ship as officials warn of more cases

A Brit who left the hantavirus cruise ship early is missing as health officials try and trace the individual. Seven British people disembarked from the MV Hondius mid-way through the cruise alongside a woman who later died, it has emerged. A total of 29 people left the ship when it docked in the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena, including a Dutch woman who became unwell during onward travel and later died. The woman was accompanying her husband’s body, which was being repatriated after he died on the ship on April 11. A spokesperson for the UK Health Security Agency confirmed to The Mirror that of the seven Britons, two are self-isolating now back in the UK, four are still in St Helena and efforts are ongoing to find the other person. They said: “We are aware of seven British Nationals who disembarked the ship at St Helena on April 24. Two of these individuals are now self-isolating in the UK while the others have not yet returned. “Four of these individuals remain in St Helena and we are in touch with the relevant health officials to provide advice on contact management. Tracing efforts are ongoing for the seventh individual, who we know has not yet returned to the UK.” The 30 people who disembarked in St Helena were from 12 nations. The cruise ship is now heading to the Canary Islands after stopping at Cape Verd. Five of eight suspected hantavirus cases from the ship have now been confirmed. Some 19 British nationals were listed as passengers on the MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, with four British crew members. Two British people have been medically evacuated including crew member Martin Anstee, 56. The expedition guide and former police officer was flown to receive specialist medical care in the Netherlands after being airlifted off the vessel on Wednesday. A British passenger, understood to be a 69-year-old man, was medically evacuated to South Africa on April 27 and is receiving care at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg. It comes after UK health experts said that British passengers on board will be asked to self-isolate in the UK for 45 days. Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said “for the broader public, not directly involved in this cruise ship, the risk here is really negligible”.