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  "path": "/health/hantavirus-outbreak-cruise-ship-evacuation",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-05T12:11:58.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "NHS jab targeting dozens of cancers could slash treatment time by 90%",
    "Two evacuated from cruise ship amid hantavirus outbreak as WHO probes possible onboard transmission",
    "Doctors hail 'life-saving' shift for asthmatics as blue inhalers ditched for modern devices",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA second British national has developed symptoms of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, Downing Street confirmed today, as the UK government coordinates with Dutch authorities to bring affected passengers ashore.\n\nThe Dutch-flagged vessel remains anchored off Cape Verde following the deaths of three passengers from the rare rodent-transmitted disease.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMedical teams wearing protective equipment have now boarded the stricken ship to evacuate those infected with the potentially fatal virus.\n\nMore than 20 British passengers remain stranded on the vessel, unable to leave since Sunday when authorities imposed a disembarkation ban following the fatalities.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe ship's operator confirmed that those who died included a Dutch married couple and a German national.\n\nSupplies have been transported to the isolated cruise liner as it waits off the West African archipelago.\n\nThe World Health Organisation has indicated that limited person-to-person transmission may be occurring among individuals in close contact aboard the confined vessel.\n\nHealth officials have identified seven cases in total on the vessel, with two infections confirmed through laboratory testing.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAmong those verified is a British national now receiving treatment in South Africa, alongside a Dutch woman who died on 27 April after being taken off the ship.\n\nFive further suspected infections remain under investigation.\n\nThe expedition voyage set sail from Argentina on 1 April, heading for Cape Verde.\n\nAuthorities believe the initial infections were contracted before passengers embarked on the cruise.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * NHS jab targeting dozens of cancers could slash treatment time by 90%\n  * Two evacuated from cruise ship amid hantavirus outbreak as WHO probes possible onboard transmission\n  * Doctors hail 'life-saving' shift for asthmatics as blue inhalers ditched for modern devices\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nOne British passenger remains in a critical condition in intensive care, while a fellow Briton serving as crew requires urgent medical attention and is among those being removed from the ship.\n\nNumber 10 confirmed the UK is working alongside the Dutch government to evacuate affected individuals to dry land.\n\nThe Foreign Office described the situation as \"a deeply worrying time for all those onboard the MV Hondius and the families of those affected by the hantavirus outbreak\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nConsular teams from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have been deployed across multiple countries to support British nationals caught up in the crisis.\n\nStaff in the UK, South Africa, Spain and Portugal are liaising continuously with international partners and the cruise operator.\n\nFCDO personnel remain in contact with relatives of the hospitalised British man in South Africa.\n\nOnce the two infected passengers have been removed, the MV Hondius will continue its journey to the Canary Islands. The WHO maintains that the outbreak poses minimal danger to the wider public.\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Second Briton on cruise ship shows hantavirus symptoms as UK coordinates evacuation"
}