A medic who developed symptoms of hantavirus while working on the remote British overseas territory of Ascension Island is now being treated at a specialist unit in a London hospital, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed. The individual was flown to the UK on Saturday for a “specialist assessment” and is being cared for at the High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, after Ascension Island’s lack of a dedicated infectious diseases facility made the transfer a “highly precautionary measure”.
Inside the HCID unit: why it matters
The HCID unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of a small number of NHS facilities designated to handle the most dangerous pathogens known to medicine. Hantavirus is classified as a High Consequence Infectious Disease in the UK, meaning it requires stringent isolation protocols, specialist staff training, and negative-pressure rooms to prevent airborne transmission. The unit is equipped to provide intensive respiratory support if the virus progresses to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a life-threatening condition in which fluid builds up in the lungs. Because there is no specific vaccine or antiviral treatment for hantavirus, care is entirely supportive — focusing on symptom management, oxygen therapy and, if necessary, mechanical ventilation. The UKHSA said the medic will undergo further testing and assessment at the unit, and stressed that the transfer was precautionary given the absence of a specialist unit on Ascension Island.
Nine contacts to arrive in the UK
A group of nine British nationals from St Helena and Ascension Island who may have been exposed to hantavirus but who remain asymptomatic are expected to arrive in the UK on Sunday evening, the UKHSA said. They will be taken directly to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral — the same facility that housed passengers from the cruise ship at the centre of the outbreak. There they will complete a 45-day self-isolation period, supported by the NHS’s High Consequence Infectious Diseases network if they become unwell. Arrowe Park was chosen partly because of its proximity to specialist infectious disease units in Liverpool. The UKHSA added that one person left the hospital on Saturday to finish their isolation at home after a clinical and public health assessment deemed it safe, following six others who had already returned home on Thursday last week. Those now isolating at home, as well as any still in hospital, are being closely monitored.
UK team deployed to the South Atlantic
In response to a request from the island’s government, the UK has sent three members of its Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) to St Helena. The team includes microbiologists Clara Milroy and Kimberley Steeds, who will use a mobile laboratory to perform on-site PCR testing for hantavirus and to rule out other conditions, and infection prevention and control expert Anthony Twyman, who will support Jamestown General Hospital with assessments and training. The trio will remain on the island for eight weeks, the UKHSA said.
The outbreak on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius has so far led to twelve cases — nine confirmed, two probable and one inconclusive — and three deaths, according to the latest figures. The ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 April 2026 with an itinerary that included Antarctica and South Atlantic islands. The Andes virus (ANDV), a strain of hantavirus that can spread between humans through close, sustained contact, has been identified as the cause. The outbreak is believed to have started with a passenger who contracted the virus ashore in South America before boarding, with subsequent human-to-human transmission occurring onboard. The ship has capacity for 196 passengers and a crew of 72.
The international response is being coordinated by the World Health Organization, which has deployed experts alongside the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified the outbreak as a “level 3” emergency. In the UK, Public Health Scotland is working with UKHSA and NHS boards to trace a small number of individuals in Scotland who may have had contact with the virus, and a military parachute drop was used to deliver medical support to Tristan da Cunha after a suspected case there.
Dr Meera Chand, deputy director at UKHSA, said: “UKHSA will continue to work with our partners locally, nationally and internationally to ensure everyone has the necessary support in place. We are undertaking safe repatriation of those affected by the outbreak where appropriate, incorporating medical checks and support, with the latest flight arriving tonight. We are committed to keeping these passengers and the wider population safe and will remain in close contact with them as they complete their self-isolation period.”