Maeve Cullinan Global Health Security Reporter

Twenty British people repatriated from the so-called “rat-virus cruise” were released from self-isolation on Monday.

The cohort have now completed 42 days of quarantine after disembarking the MV Hondius, the Antarctic expedition cruise ship at the centre of a Hantavirus outbreak that killed three people earlier this year.

After the vessel docked in the Canary Islands on May 10, the British passengers were medically evacuated on a government-chartered flight to Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside.

There, they underwent an initial 72-hour monitoring period before being allowed to return home to complete six weeks of self-isolation.

None developed Hantavirus, which has an incubation period of up to six weeks, and they will now all be able to return to their daily lives as normal.

The group were regularly tested by teams from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the NHS throughout the isolation period, The Telegraph understands.

They were also required to take part in daily check-ins with UKHSA behavioural support teams, who monitored their wellbeing.

The agency arranged for groceries to be safely delivered and ensured passengers were able to exercise outdoors during their isolation.

The isolation period was “voluntary” rather than mandated by law, although all passengers are understood to have complied with the measures.

It is also “freedom day” for 125 other passengers repatriated to their home countries, including the US, France, and Australia, and marks the end of an 80-day outbreak that began in early April when a Dutch couple boarded the MV Hondius after travelling in South America.

The pair are thought to have contracted the rare Andes strain of Hantavirus – which can spread to humans through contact with infected rodent droppings – during a birdwatching trip, before boarding the ship in Argentina.

Both later died, along with a German tourist. Three other passengers from the cruise, including a British doctor, were treated in intensive care.

The Andes strain of the virus can spread through close contact, including respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Cruise ships are often described as “floating Petri dishes” because their enclosed environments and close living quarters provide ideal conditions for infectious diseases to spread.

In total, 13 people were infected with the Andes strain while travelling aboard the MV Hondius, including a British man who lives on Tristan da Cunha, the British overseas territory that is the most remote inhabited island in the world.

He travelled on the first leg of the cruise, which stopped at Tristan da Cunha three weeks into its voyage.

The island, which has no airstrip and only one GP surgery, began to run short of oxygen supplies as the man’s condition deteriorated.

In a historic humanitarian mission, a specialist team of paratroopers and medics from the UK’s 16 Air Assault Brigade were dropped onto the island with the equipment needed to treat him.

The patient has since recovered, according to UKHSA.

There have been no secondary infections linked to the outbreak, despite concerns over the international flights taken by passengers who left the ship before the presence of Hantavirus was confirmed.

Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at UKHSA, said: “We would like to reiterate our thanks and gratitude to passengers, crew and other contacts for their cooperation throughout what has been a very challenging time for everyone affected.

“Our teams will continue to work closely with local authorities and the NHS to ensure everyone affected by this outbreak has the necessary support in place.”

There are currently no vaccines or treatments available for Hantavirus. Data on the pathogen is also extremely limited.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates anywhere between 10,000-100,000 infections occur each year of hantaviruses, which include the Andes virus and other strains.

Just $7.5 million was spent on research and development in 2024 for all hantaviruses, according to a scorecard from the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat. In contrast, $15 billion was spent on Covid-19 research in the same year, followed by $488 million on Ebola.

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