Oceanwide ExpeditionsScotland’s national public health agency is working on contact tracing alongside the UK Health Security Agency amid fears of the spread of hantavirus.
Three British nationals have been diagnosed with the virus, having been on board a cruise ship hit by an outbreak.
A 69-year-old British man who was taken off the MV Hondius with symptoms is currently receiving intensive care treatment at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg, and is said to be improving.
Another Briton, Martin Anstee, 56, was taken off the ship on Wednesday and flown to the Netherlands to receive specialist medical care. He is also improving.
The third disembarked the Hondius along with six other Brits, as part of a group of 29, in St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, midway between Africa and South America.
The patient remains on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
Two other Brits who got off in St Helena independently returned to the UK and are self-isolating but have no symptoms.
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Four Britons are still on St Helena and a further Briton has been tracked and reached in an undisclosed country outside of the UK.
All those who were in contact with British nationals who left the ship are being traced and contacted by the UKHSA, though there is no indication of how many people that involves.
Public Health Scotland said it was working alongside public health agencies in Wales and Northern Ireland to support UKHSA to respond to the incident and manage any risks.
These include “well-established protocols” around contact tracing and isolation measures “where necessary”, a spokesperson told STV News.
Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, said it was “tricky to say” how likely it would be for Scottish cases to arise, as the cruise ship linked to an outbreak of the virus was full of people from different countries.
“Even if we don’t see cases right away in Scotland or in Britain, as we’ve learned cases anywhere in the world can spread quickly once it mutates to a form that allows human-to-human transmission,” she told STV News.
Three people in total have died linked to an outbreak of hantavirus on the cruise ship.
The UKHSA said none of the British citizens on board the ship, which is now travelling to Tenerife, is currently reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored.
Some 22 British passengers and crew on the MV Hondius are expected to reach the Canary Islands on Sunday.
The UK Government hopes to fly them back to the UK the same day.
Officials from the UKHSA and Foreign Office will greet the MV Hondius ship when it docks in Tenerife, with Britons on board tested for hantavirus before they disembark.
If people test negative and are not displaying symptoms, they will be taken straight to a dedicated repatriation flight, with the hope they will be flown back to the UK the same day.
That flight will be staffed by medical professionals and will carry equipment and medicines in case people fall ill.
The ship is currently on track to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, depending on weather conditions as it sails on a route from the coast off Cape Verde.
The majority of Britons returning are expected to self-isolate at home but the UKHSA is making arrangements for people to stay at other facilities if that is not possible. It said those details will be released at a further date.
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Seven Britons disembarked the ship in St Helena on April 23, with the British man with suspected hantavirus leaving the ship at Tristan da Cunha.
Two Britons who left the ship at St Helena flew back to the UK and are self-isolating in the UK but do not have symptoms.
The Foreign Office is in daily contact with the 22 British passengers and crew on the ship and is answering any questions they have. They currently have no symptoms of hantavirus.
It is understood that any person who develops symptoms on the ship before it lands would then be treated in the Canary Islands.
Britons returning to the UK will not be allowed to take public transport to their homes to self-isolate.
They will stay in self-isolation for 45 days and will be self-testing. Further testing will be carried out once the 45-day isolation period ends.
Is the virus spreading between people?
UKHSA experts are still looking into the spread of the virus between people, with previous outbreaks suggesting people need to be in close contact and most transmission occurs when people have symptoms.
Officials do not believe the current strain from the ship is more transmissible than in previous cases, though work is ongoing to study the virus.
Nine confirmed cases of hantavirus have so far been linked to a cruise ship, including the two British men, with the further suspected case in a British man.
Fives of the nine cases overall are confirmed hantavirus, while four remain are suspected cases.
While the risk to the public is low, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said there could be more cases because of the incubation period of the Andes virus – the variant of hantavirus linked to the outbreak.
Experts believe the incubation period for the virus in the human body can extend to six weeks.
The outbreak has been connected to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina which two of the passengers went on before boarding the ship.
It comes as Spain’s health secretary, Javier Padilla, reported there was a suspected case of hantavirus in Alicante.
According to El Pais newspaper, it involves a passenger who was on the same plane as the patient who died in Johannesburg.
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