Last week, 3 of our colleagues packed a fully functioning laboratory into a set of flight cases and boarded a plane to one of the most remote islands on Earth. Saint Helena, a UK Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic …
We are monitoring and providing public health advice about an outbreak of hantavirus linked to the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius. Sadly, 3 foreign nationals have died in connection with the outbreak, however, the risk to the public is very low as hantavirus is not spread through everyday social contact.
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents such as mice and rats, transmitted by their droppings and urine. Hantaviruses are present throughout the world. They can be found in some areas of Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Where they are present, they can cause a range of diseases from mild, flu-like illness …
