The head of the WHO has said the rat virus will continue to spread but there is no sign of the outbreak yet.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of further Hantavirus cases to come as Brits linked to the ill-fated MV Hondius were getting ready to be flown 5,000 miles from St Helena and Ascension Island to the UK to isolate here instead.

The World Health Organisation chief cited the virus’s ‘long incubation period’ – but there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak.

Fears that the virus could already have taken hold beyond the MV Hondius are growing after two suspected cases emerged in Italy and France.

Cases of the deadly rat-borne virus have only been confirmed in passengers who travelled on the ship, with 11 reported so far.

The ‘patient zero’ of the outbreak was Leo Schilperoord, 70, a Dutch man who died on April 6. However, hantavirus was not detected until weeks later.

During that time there was ‘a lot of interaction’ between passengers, warned Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He added: ‘The incubation period is six to eight weeks. We would expect more cases.’

Passengers arrive at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside on May 10, 2026. A new group of 10 are now being brought back to the UK

The MV Hondius, pictured, had been stranded off the west African coast near Cape Verde after it was turned away following news of the rat-borne hantavirus spreading on board

Head of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said the rat virus will continue to spread but there is no sign of the outbreak yet

Samples from a man quarantined in Italy were sent for testing after he boarded a Dutch KLM flight alongside cruise passenger Mirjam Schilperoord, 69, the wife of the first confirmed case.

She was asked to leave the flight because she was so ill, and died from suspected hantavirus a fortnight after her husband at a hospital in Johannesburg. A third passenger, from Germany, also died.

This morning, another suspected case who had not been on the MV Hondius was sent to hospital in Brittany, France.

‘There is no need to panic,’ local mayor Quentin Le Gaillard said. ‘We are only talking about a single case.’

Meanwhile, 10 Brits who got off the rat-virus ship, as well as local medics on St Helena and Ascension Island who have been in contact with them, will be brought back imminently, health authorities say.

It comes as 20 British nationals from the ship who have been isolating at former Covid quarantine hospital Arrowe Park on the Wirral prepare to leave the facility.

The new group – thought to be residents of the UK overseas territories of St Helena and Ascension Island – are now being ‘brought to the UK to complete their self-isolation as a precautionary measure’, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

All are British and include people who left the ill-fated cruise ship in St Helena plus medical staff who have been in contact with them.

The relocation involves ‘some contacts who are already isolating, to places where they can safely self-isolate with access to appropriate specialist medical services’, the UKHSA said.

The body added: ‘This is because England’s NHS high consequence infectious disease network is well equipped to respond if they become unwell.

‘Currently none of these contacts are symptomatic and this is precautionary to support communities in UK overseas territories. We will set out where they will isolate in due course.’

Twenty-two Brits were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral on Sunday evening for a three-day isolation and assessment period after the MV Hondius docked in Tenerife. They will now isolate for a further 42 days.

But health officials will rely on voluntary co-operation unless passengers refuse to comply and the public is deemed at risk.

Worried locals elsewhere on the Wirral also questioned why those onboard had not remained isolated at sea.

The MV Hondius had been stranded off the west African coast near Cape Verde after it was turned away following news of the rat-borne hantavirus spreading on board.

So far, 11 hantavirus cases have been reported among people on the cruise, including three deaths.

Nine of the 11 cases are confirmed, with two more probable cases.

And in scenes reminiscent of the Covid pandemic, upon arriving in Manchester, the group of Brits were sent to Arrowe Park Hospital – the same facility where the first Britons flown out of Wuhan were brought to isolate six years ago.

Previously it was reported two Brits who returned to the UK early from the ship have been isolating at home. They contacted officials after hearing about the outbreak of hantavirus.

It is understood neither of these people have developed hantavirus symptoms but are going to stay at Arrowe Park while they continue to isolate.

One British man with hantavirus is still being cared for in Johannesburg and is thought to be improving, while another is in the Netherlands.

Another Brit has hantavirus and is isolating where he lives on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha.

Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at UKHSA, said: ‘We are grateful to the passengers for their cooperation and patience in what we appreciate has been a very unsettling period for all involved.

‘As this first assessment period concludes, our priority remains to ensure everyone is safe and well supported, wherever they complete their isolation.

‘Our teams will continue to be there for all of the affected individuals every step of the way.

‘We would ask the media and the public to respect the privacy of the passengers and their families at what has been a very difficult and distressing time for everyone involved.’

Earlier, a statement from the Ascension Island Government said a ‘small number of individuals currently on St Helena who travelled on the vessel have been assessed as higher risk’.

It said: ‘While the likelihood of illness remains low, UKHSA has advised that they should be the subject of pre-emptive relocation to the UK to complete their self-isolation. This is being arranged and they will be fully supported on arrival.’

Separately, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) told a briefing on Tuesday that some passengers on the cruise ship had been ‘facing mental breakdown’.

Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it would have been ‘inhumane’ to leave people on board the ship rather than letting it dock in Tenerife, from where people were repatriated to their home countries.

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A new group – thought to be residents of the UK overseas territories of St Helena and Ascension Island – are now being brought to the UK

Personnel wearing protective gear on a support vessel head toward the MV Hondius cruise ship

He said there was a need for kindness and compassion, adding: ‘Almost 150 people from 23 countries were on this ship for weeks in what must have been a very frightening situation.

‘Some of the passengers were facing mental breakdown. They have the right to be treated with dignity and compassion.

‘There were some people around the world calling for the passengers to be contained on the ship for the full quarantine period.

‘Our view was that would have been inhumane, and unnecessary. Yesterday during our press conference I called it even cruel to suggest that.

‘We were convinced it was possible to disembark these passengers in a way that was safe for them and the people of Tenerife and that was respectful of the human rights of the passengers and crew.’

Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, for allowing the ship to dock in the Canaries.

In a video message on Monday, the ship’s captain Mr Dobrogowski thanked passengers and crew and said ‘the past few weeks have been extremely challenging to us all’.

He added: ‘What touched me the most, what moved me the most, was your patience, your discipline, and also (the) kindness that you showed to each other throughout.’

Meanwhile, a French woman who tested positive for hantavirus is in intensive care in a stable condition at a Paris hospital.

One of 18 evacuated passengers flown to the US has also tested positive but has no symptoms, while another had mild symptoms.

Spain’s health ministry said one Spaniard who is quarantining in Madrid has also provisionally tested positive for hantavirus.

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