Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship arrives at Netherlands port as final destination for 25 crew still onboard
Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - have died since the start of the outbreak
The luxury liner at the centre of an outbreak of hantavirus reached the Dutch port of Rotterdam, where authorities prepared quarantine arrangements for the 23 crew and two medical staff on board.
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The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius had been carrying around 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was first reported to the World Health Organisation on May 2.
Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - have died since the start of the outbreak.
The vessel, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, had been stranded off Cape Verde, its intended final destination, earlier this month after authorities barred passengers from going ashore due to the outbreak.
The WHO and the EU asked Spain to manage the evacuation at the Canary Islands, after which the ship departed for Rotterdam with a skeleton crew and two additional medical staff.
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Local port authorities said quarantine facilities had been set up for some of the non-Dutch crew, though it was unclear if they would stay there for the full recommended 42-day quarantine period. The vessel itself is to undergo disinfection.
Crew, passengers who already left the ship and people in contact with them have been quarantined in several countries around the world.
Hantavirus is primarily spread by rodents but can be transmitted between people in rare cases and after prolonged, close contact. Incubation can last about six weeks.
The current outbreak involves the so-called Andes virus, which has circulated in Argentina and Chile for decades. Ship samples show no meaningful variation in the virus, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said.
On Saturday, one person left Arrowe Park Hospital to complete their 45-day isolation period at home, after a clinical and public health assessment deemed it safe for them to do so, the UK Health Security Agency said.
A further six people returned home from the hospital to continue their self-isolation on Thursday last week. The people isolating at home and those who remain in the hospital are being closely monitored, it added.
Meanwhile, a medic who developed symptoms on a remote British overseas territory is being cared for in a London hospital.
A group of nine Britons from St Helena and Ascension Island, who may have been exposed to hantavirus but do not have symptoms, arrived in the UK on Sunday evening, the UKHSA said.
On Friday, the WHO revised its case count to 10 from 11 after an inconclusive US case tested negative.
As of May 15, there were 10 WHO-reported cases - eight confirmed and two probable - including the three deaths.
The WHO recommends monitoring and quarantining high-risk contacts for 42 days after exposure, while advising low-risk contacts to self-monitor and seek medical care if symptoms develop.