A small number Scots are believed to be linked to the outbreak
The MV Hondius cruise ship where the outbreak is understood to have transmitted.(Image: Getty Image. )
Public Health Scotland (PHS) have said there are a small number of people in the country who are linked to the hantavirus outbreak. Alarm bells have sounded globally after a rare strain of hantavrius broke on a Dutch cruise ship, MV Hondius, as it sailed from Argentina to Cape Verde.
Those at the public health body have said they will have regular communication with those impacted while also offering precautionary testing and ongoing care and support, the Daily Record reports. Health bosses added that there are currently no known cases of hantavirus in Scotland and the risk to the general public is very low.
Three people died on the voyage and nine cases confirmed by tests have been identified. The health body said it is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS boards in Scotland to “take appropriate action”.
Samples from those who have been contacted by health authorities will be sent to a high security lab in Glasgow for analysis.
A PHS statement read: “Public Health Scotland (PHS) is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and colleagues across the UK, to respond to the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak and take appropriate action. This includes well established protocols around contact tracing and isolation measures where necessary.
“PHS and NHS boards in Scotland are working to follow up with a small number of individuals who had potential contact with cases and will remain in close contact with these individuals for up to 45 days from the last potential exposure. Contacts will continue to receive precautionary testing as required, as well as ongoing care and support. There are currently no known cases of hantavirus in Scotland and the risk to the general public is very low.”
Scientists at the Centre for Virus Research (CVR) have already received samples from about 20 people who were on the ship, with the team now looking into how the virus has spread as well as potential treatments. Centre director Prof Emma Thomson said: “The symptoms are classically of respiratory illness, rather like a severe influenza infection or Covid-19 – people get very breathless.
Those who contract the virus have to quarantine for over 40 days.(Image: Getty Images. )
“Unfortunately, the consequences of the Andes strain can be very severe, and one in three people might be expected to die. So that makes it a very serious infection and that’s why we need ongoing research to look for new treatments and vaccines.”
Six people evacuated to the UK on Wednesday were able to return home or to suitable accommodation to complete a 45-day isolation period. They had already isolated at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, for 72 hours and tested negative for the virus.
In total, 22 passengers and crew had been isolating at the hospital – the rest will remain but are asymptomatic and have tested negative for the virus. It has not been revealed for how long the remaining patients will stay in hospital. Two Brits with confirmed cases are being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa. The head of the UN health agency previously said there was “no sign” of a larger hantavirus outbreak.
Researchers at the CVR are now looking at blood and nasal samples from passengers, crew and traced contacts. Thomson said the main aim is to investigate potential treatments and a vaccine.
She added: “We are working on improving our understanding of how the virus divides, transmits, and thinking about how current antiviral treatments can be used as a new treatment. For example, some vaccines that have been designed to fight against other types of hantavirus might also work against the Andes strain.”
A number of cases have been seen in Scotland in the past, involving a different type of hantavirus which can only be transmitted from rodents.
