Woman isolating on British island in South Pacific after hantavirus contact

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Woman isolating on British island in South Pacific after hantavirus contact9 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleThomas CopelandMichael Dunning / Getty ImagesThe remote Pitcairn Islands has a population of about 50 peopleA woman is isolating on the Pitcairn Islands, a remote British Overseas Territory in the South Pacific, after travelling on a hantavirus-hit cruise ship. A local government spokesperson told the the person "had contact with a hantavirus-exposed individual" but was "showing no signs of illness". The UK foreign office said it was "aware of an individual from the MV Hondius who has travelled on to the Pitcairn Islands".

Officials said she was not a suspected case and the risk to the public was low. The woman had flown from San Francisco on 7 May and travelled through the island of Tahiti and then Mangareva in French Polynesia, the French Polynesian government said. No details have been released about when and where she left the cruise and travelled to the US.

The Details

Three people have died after travelling on the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius ship. Two of them were confirmed virus cases. The third had earlier developed symptoms and is believed to have been the first infected in the outbreak, but died before he could be tested.

The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN global health agency, has since confirmed nine cases, with two others suspected. On Tuesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there was at that time "no sign" of a larger hantavirus outbreak after the evacuation of the last passengers from the ship a day earlier. But he warned that "the situation could change" and there could be more confirmed virus cases.

Hantaviruses are usually carried by rodents, but human transmission of the Andes strain - which the WHO believes some of the ship's passengers contracted in South America - is possible. Symptoms can include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and shortness of breath. How worried should we be about hantavirus?

What Experts Say

How are countries responding to hantavirus? The woman - who has not been publicly named - was currently isolating on Pitcairn, the only inhabited of the four volcanic islands of the British Overseas Territory. The British foreign office told the it was coordinating with the local authorities and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) "to manage the risks to the individual and the islanders".

UKHSA said the length of isolation for close contacts of cases, which those on the ship are considered to be, is 45 days. It is not yet clear when the UK government or local authorities were made aware of the case. Speaking to the , the Pitcairn government spokesman said: "We are working closely with the health authorities and the UK government to manage the situation.

"The wellbeing of our community remains the top priority.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.