90-Second Read: How worried should we be about Hantavirus?

Passengers potentially exposed to Hantavirus are being repatriated, so what is the risk to the wider public. Passengers from the cruise ship struck by a Hantavirus outbreak are being evacuated and sent to their home countries to isolate and receive medical treatment if necessary. She had been sharing a cabin with her husband who previously died on board on 11 April, although it is not currently known if he is one of the confirmed cases of Hantavirus. In its latest update, it says eight cases, six confirmed, have been identified in people who were on the ship. Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents, with people infected by breathing in air contaminated with virus particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva.

The cruise had been visiting remote wildlife areas, so a passenger could have come into contact with the virus then, or before boarding the ship. Hantavirus is not spread in the outside world through everyday social contact like walking in public spaces, shops, workplaces, or schools, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says. An American passenger travelling to the US has begun showing mild symptoms of Hantavirus and another has tested mildly positive for the Andes strain of the virus. Some other passengers from MV Hondius left on earlier flights or connections and their contacts are now being traced as a precuation. Crew and passengers now face having to self-isolate for more than a month to avoid any potential spread.

Officials say the risk of the infection spreading to the general public remains low. Human-to-human spread is possible but the risk of infections globally remains low, says WHO. Experts have observed the Andes strain spreading between human patients in previous outbreaks, through very close contact and health experts believe that some of the infections on board MV Hondius may have passed between people. Even luxury cruise ships have relatively cramped or restricted living conditions, with people sharing cabins and dining areas, places where infections could spread. Symptoms usually appear between two to four weeks after being exposed to the virus, but can occur more than a month later, which is why the recommended isolation period for the passengers is so long.

Three died either on board or after travelling on the ship, which set sail from Argentina a month ago. The three deaths include a Dutch woman who left the MV Hondius when it stopped at the island of St Helena on 24 April. People or "contacts" who may have been exposed to the infection, including on the boat, in hospital or on any of the flights that passengers took, will be monitored. Contact-tracing work that is under way has been "quite a mammoth effort", Prof Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UKHSA has told the BBC, and one "we will continue to do... Prof May said all of the British evacuees were "healthy and asymptomatic".