There are likely to be more hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius, but there is no indication of a wider outbreak, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Tuesday that he expected more cases because of the gap from when the first case was reported and when it was identified as hantavirus.
He added: “At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak, but of course the situation could change and, given the long incubation period of the virus, it's possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.”
At least eleven cases of hantavirus have been confirmed among the passengers on the cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak. Of those cases, nine have been confirmed as the Andes virus, WHO said.
Earlier on Monday, the last remaining passenger disembarked and boarded flights to their home countries where they were quarantined.
The 20 British passengers, who were tested for hantavirus before getting on the flight on Sunday, have now been taken to isolate at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside upon their arrival at Manchester Airport.
Key Points
- 'We expect more hantavirus cases', says WHO chief
- Confirmed hantavirus cases rises to 11 as Spanish passenger tests positive
- Passengers from virus-stricken cruise ship fly to home countries for monitoring
- UK Health Official announces contact tracing as cruise ship passengers enter 45-day isolation
- Experts say hantavirus cases unlikely to have started from Ushuaia trip
Confirmed hantavirus cases rises to 11 as Spanish passenger tests positive
11:37 , Harriette BoucherThe total number of confirmed hantavirus cases has risen to 11.
It comes after a Spanish passenger evacuated from the cruise ship tested positive for the virus.
The World Health Organisation said it has confirmed 11 cases, including three people from the cruise who died.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Madrid that all 11 confirmed cases are among passengers or crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship, including three people who died.
Nine of the 11 cases have been confirmed as the Andes virus.
Dutch hospital isolates 12 staff members over hantavirus protocol breach
11:16 , Harriette BoucherA Dutch hospital has quarantined 12 of its staff members for six weeks after hantavirus protocol was breached.
The preventative measure comes after blood and urine from a hantavirus patient was handled without observing strict protocols.
The Radboudumc hospital said the infection risk was very low and patient care continued uninterrupted.
“We will carefully investigate the course of events to learn from this so that it can be prevented in the future,” said Bertine Lahuis, the chair of the hospital's executive board.
Confirmed hantavirus cases rises to 9
11:15 , Harriette BoucherThe number of confirmed hantavirus cases is now nine, the World Health Organisation has said.
There are two other suspected cases, which include a person who died before being tested, and one on Tristan da Cunha, a remote South Atlantic island where there were no tests available.
All suspected cases have been isolated and managed under strict medical supervision, minimising any risk of further transmission, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Madrid.
“At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak but of course the situation could change and given the long incubation period of the virus, it's possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks,” he said.
'We expect more hantavirus cases', says WHO chief
10:08 , Harriette BoucherThere will likely be more hantavirus cases because there was a lot of interaction among passengers before the infection was confirmed, the chief of the World Health Organisation has said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference: “We would expect more cases because, as you may remember, the first case was on 6 April and until the report was confirmed as infectious around 24/25 April, there was a lot of interaction of the passengers,” Sky News reported.
“As you know, the incubation period is six to eight weeks. Because of the interaction, while they were still on the ship, even as they were taking some preventative measures... we would expect more cases.”
French woman on cruise ship was told by doctors that hantavirus symptoms were ‘anxiety’
10:00 , Harriette BoucherMaroosha Muzaffar writes:
A French woman who tested positive for hantavirus after she was evacuated from a cruise ship was told by doctors that her flu-like symptoms were probably just anxiety, a Spanish minister has said.
The woman’s condition deteriorated rapidly after her evacuation from the MV Hondius and she is now in a critical state in a Paris hospital, according to the World Health Organisation.
Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - have died since the start of the outbreak on the ship, which is usually spread by wild rodents but can also be transmitted person-to-person in rare cases of close contact. Eight infections have been confirmed.
Spanish health minister Javier Padilla Bernaldez told the Guardian that her symptoms were not deemed as hantavirus as she had told medics that an episode of coughing she had suffered days before had disappeared.
She said that “what she was having at that moment was kind of like stress or anxiety or nervousness.”
French woman on cruise ship was told that hantavirus symptoms were ‘anxiety’
18 Americans quarantined after flying home from hantavirus-stricken cruise ship as one tests positive for disease
09:30 , Harriette BoucherJulia Musto reports:
The 18 Americans, who returned to the U.S. early Monday following a deadly outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship, are quarantined and in “good shape,” public health officials have said.
One of the 18 Americans has tested positive for the rodent-borne virus, which originated on the MV Hondius ocean expedition vessel last month. Three passengers have died in the outbreak, seven others have been infected and two further cases are suspected as of Monday.
More than 140 passengers and crew disembarked in the Spain’s Canary Islands Sunday, where the Americans were met by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection and boarded chartered aircraft to the U.S.
The Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that 16 passengers are in isolation in a specialist quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, including the positive patient. They do not have symptoms and are under observation. Two others are being monitored at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, due to lack of space in Nebraska, officials said. One of these individuals has received both a positive and negative test for hantavirus but is showing no symptoms.
“The 15 who were welcome here were in good shape, they were in good spirits," Dr. Michael Wadman, Medical Director of the Nebraska’s national quarantine unit, said of passengers who have tested negative. “They definitely were tired and needed some rest, so we did a quick assessment, brought them into the unit, a very smooth, successful, safe transfer.”
18 Americans quarantined after flying home from hantavirus-stricken cruise ship
'Not going to happen' WHO chief says global outbreak not possible
09:00 , Harriette BoucherThe chief of the World Health Organisation has said there is no risk of the hantavirus spreading across the world.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was asked by Sky News if his presence in Spain indicated that the outbreak was similar to Covid, he said: “It doesn’t show that, because people are concerned, I have to be with them, well knowing full well that the risk is very low.
“But when people are concerned, then I have to take it seriously and I have to be with them to repeat the same message, and support so the operation is successful.”
Asked if there was a risk in letting passengers go onto Spanish soil and spread the virus worldwide, he said: “Based on the assessment, what you are saying is not going to happen.”
MV Hondius captain thanks passengers for their 'patience, discipline, and kindness'
08:54 , Harriette BoucherThe captain of the MV Hondius has praised the crew and passengers for the way they coped during “extremely challenging” times.
In a video message, Jan Dobrogowski said he couldn’t imagine “sailing through these circumstances with a better group of people”.
He said: “I’ve decided to take this time to thank every single guest and crew member on board here, as well as our colleagues back home. The past few weeks have been extremely challenging to us all.
“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.”
He added: “I’ve witnessed your caring, your unity and quiet strength amongst everybody on board, guests and crew alike, and I must commend my crew for their courage and the selfless resolve they showed time and again in the most difficult moments.
“I cannot imagine sailing through these circumstances with a better group of people, guests and crew alike. Most importantly, our thoughts are with the ones that are no longer with us.
“Whatever I say will not ease this loss. I’d like you to know they are with us every day, in our hearts and our thoughts.”
How does Andes hantavirus spread?
08:30 , Namita SinghHantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases.
Symptoms, which can include fever, chills and muscle aches, usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
Tedros of the WHO advised that returning passengers should stay in quarantine, either in their homes or in other facilities, for 42 days. He added that WHO cannot enforce its guidance, and that different countries may handle monitoring of passengers without symptoms in different ways.
Numerous countries have said their people will be quarantined or hospitalised for observation.
WHO reveals the route of passengers first diagnosed with hantavirus infection
08:15 , Namita SinghThe Dutch couple who presented the first two cases had travelled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding the ship, the WHO said.
They visited sites where the species of rat known to carry Andes virus was present.
French woman infected from hantavirus stable, says prime minister
08:00 , Namita SinghThe French woman who tested positive for the hantavirus was in intensive care in stable condition at a Paris hospital, French prime minister Sebastien Lecornu said Monday.
He said four French passengers who returned on Sunday tested negative but remained in isolation at the same hospital.
South Africa gives an update on condition of British man admitted in Johannesburg
07:45 , Namita SinghSouth African health authorities said on Monday that the condition of a British man admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg and being treated for hantavirus was gradually improving.
He was evacuated from the ship on 27 April after becoming ill.
Captain of hantavirus-stricken ship speaks out in support of passengers
07:30 , Namita SinghThe captain of the hantavirus-stricken ship, Jan Dobrogowski, issued a video message on Monday praising passengers and crew for their courage and perseverance, and he called for respect for their privacy.
“I could not imagine sailing through these circumstances with a better group of people, guests and crew alike,” he said.
French woman told her hantavirus symptoms were just anxiety
07:29 , Namita SinghA French woman who was the latest to be confirmed as infected from hantavirus was told that her symptoms were just anxiety when she earlier informed the doctors on board, reported the Guardian.
Spanish health minister Javier Padilla Bernaldez said that the woman had flu-like symptoms on the cruise at the time of the deadly outbreak and seemed to be getting better.
The French woman was later admitted in intensive care at a Paris hospital.
“They were not thinking that these symptoms were compatible with hantavirus. Why? Because what she was telling [them] was [that she had] an episode of coughing some days ago that had disappeared, and what she was having at that moment was kind of like stress or anxiety or nervousness. So it was not catalogued [as hantavirus],” Padilla said.
At least 25 crew member and two medical professional on board hantavirus-striken cruise
07:15 , Namita SinghOceanwide Expeditions, which owns and operates the cruise ship, said 25 crew and two medical professionals remained on board Monday as the Hondius departed the Canary Islands. It was expected to arrive in Rotterdam on Sunday.
The Hondius left the southern Argentine port of Ushuaia on 1 April and a Dutch passenger died on board on 11 April. It wasn’t until early May that the WHO said it was reacting to a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the ship, which by that time was off the West African island nation of Cape Verde.
Recap: How many hantavirus cases have been confirmed?
07:00 , Rebecca Whittaker- Seven cases of Andes hantavirus have been confirmed among passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship, as reported by the World Health Organization.
- Two additional cases are suspected, including the individual believed to be the first infected, who died before being tested.
- The outbreak has resulted in a total of three deaths.
- Twenty British passengers, who were tested for hantavirus, are now isolating at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside after arriving at Manchester Airport.
- UK health officials have commenced contact tracing for individuals who had contact with those evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius.
Health secretary reacts after being criticised over hantavirus response
06:45 , Namita SinghHealth secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr responded after some public health experts have accused the US government of being slow to respond to the hantavirus outbreak.
Rejecting the notion that cuts at his agency had left the US less prepared, he said: “We have this under control…and we’re not worried about it.”
Australia to quarantine six people flying home from hantavirus cruise ship
06:30 , Rebecca Whittaker
Australia to quarantine six people from hantavirus cruise ship
US rushes to test nationals evacuated from cruise
06:15 , Namita SinghOne of 18 evacuated passengers flown to the US also tested positive for the hantavirus but was not showing symptoms, while another had mild symptoms, US health officials said.
After landing early on Monday, 16 American passengers – one of them a British-US dual citizen – were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which has a federally funded quarantine facility and a biocontainment unit for treating people with highly infectious diseases.
They were being assessed to determine if they had close contact with any symptomatic people and their risk levels for spreading the virus.
An American who tested positive for hantavirus on the cruise ship was taken to the Omaha campus' biocontainment unit and will be tested again. The passenger “is doing well and not having symptoms at this time,” said Dr Angela Hewlett, the unit's medical director.
The others taken to Nebraska will be monitored in quarantine for several days. They arrived “in good shape, good spirits,” said Dr Michael Wadman, the quarantine unit's medical director.
Two additional American passengers, a couple, arrived Monday at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. One of them had mild symptoms and will be tested for hantavirus.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean, just because someone has symptoms, that they’re going to end up having this illness,” said Dr Brendan Jackson of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Delayed rescue could have led to complication, says WHO chief
06:00 , Namita SinghWHO chief says a delayed rescue of those stranded on the hantavirus stricken ship could have made the situation more complicated.
“If they stayed longer on the ship, the situation could have been difficult,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation.
He said citizens of the countries passengers are returning to should know “there is nothing to fear, the risk is low, this is not another Covid-19”.
Health authorities say it's the first hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. While there is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates.
Watch: ‘This is not Covid': CDC boss attempts to reassure concerned public over hantavirus outbreak
05:30 , Rebecca WhittakerPassengers from virus-stricken cruise ship fly to home countries for monitoring
04:45 , Namita SinghThe last remaining passengers on a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak disembarked Monday and boarded flights to more than 20 countries to enter quarantine.
A French woman was the latest to be confirmed as infected, while an American was suspected of infection after initial testing.
Three cruise ship passengers have died, and six people with confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus are being quarantined, according to the WHO. The lab results of the American who tested positive were inconclusive, WHO spokesperson Sarah Tyler said Monday.
Passengers began flying home aboard military and government planes Sunday after the MV Hondius anchored in the Canary Islands. Personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks escorted the travelers from ship to shore in Tenerife, an effort that concluded Monday.
In pictures: Passengers disembark from a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship
04:30 , Rebecca Whittaker
UK Health Official announces contact tracing as cruise ship passengers enter 45-day isolation
03:30 , Rebecca WhittakerThe UK health officials have begin contact tracing for those in touch with British passengers and crew of the Hantavirus-striken MV Hondius.
Announcing the measure, Chief Scientific Officer at the UK Health Security Agency Professor Robin May told BBC Radio 4: “Contact tracing is still very much ongoing and we'll continue to do that over the next few weeks actually, particularly on stopover points of the cruise ship on islands and, and similar.”
It came as the evacuated and repatriated crew and passengers were put in isolation for 45 days.
Professor May, however, attempted to assure viewers about the spread of Hantavirus, saying it is not the same as Covid-19 pandemic.
Explaining the need for contact tracing measure, he said: “People these days travel a lot as we all know, so it's important to keep up with where they are, but at the minute we have reached out and contacted a huge number of people already, and again my thanks to them for participating in this.
“But yes... the number of people we're contacting may continue to rise over the coming days, but most people have already been contacted."
Experts say hantavirus cases unlikely to have started from Ushuaia trip
02:30 , Rebecca WhittakerHealth officials have said the deadly outbreak of hantavirus may have been caused by a Dutch couple contracting the illness during a bird-watching outing in Ushuaia, Argentina.
Two Argentine officials investigating the origins of the outbreak on the ship, which sailed from southern Argentina, said this is now the government’s leading hypothesis.
The couple visited a landfill site during the birdwatching tour, authorities said, where they may have been exposed to rodents carrying the infection.
However, locally not everyone agrees with this theory.
Authorities previously said that Ushuaia and the surrounding province of Tierra del Fuego had never recorded a case of the hantavirus.
Juan Facundo Petrina, the province's Director General of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, told the BBC there have been “no record of hantavirus cases in our history.”
He stressed that it is unlikely the virus came from his province and the endemic zone for hantavirus lies more than 1,500km (930 miles) to the north.
British man with hantavirus 'gradually improving'
01:30 , Rebecca WhittakerThe condition of a British man who was admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg after falling ill with hantavirus is gradually improving, a South African health ministry spokesperson said.
"The British patient is clinically improving but still ill," the spokesperson Foster Mohale said. "This means his condition is improving, gradually so."
The man was medically evacuated to South Africa on April 27 after presenting with a fever, shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia.
He disembarked from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius at Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean.
Testing ‘well underway’ for cruise Britons isolating at UK hospital
Tuesday 12 May 2026 00:33 , Alex RossClinical assessments and testing are “well underway” for British passengers from the cruise ship hit by deadly hantavirus who are isolating at a UK hospital, health bosses have said.
Twenty British nationals from the MV Hondius, together with a German who is a UK resident and a Japanese passenger, were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral on Sunday after the ship docked in Tenerife.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Monday evening that clinical assessments and testing at the hospital were well underway.
Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at UKHSA, said: “Clinical assessments and testing are now underway at Arrowe Park and the staff there have once again shown outstanding dedication and professionalism in providing the highest standard of care. We are enormously grateful for everything they are doing.
“Passengers will continue to receive the full support of our teams and NHS specialists throughout their stay and beyond.
“We want to reassure both passengers and the wider public that robust arrangements are in place, and that everyone involved will be looked after every step of the way.”
American from hantavirus-hit cruise ship tests positive as passengers arrive in Nebraska
Tuesday 12 May 2026 00:30 , Rebecca Whittaker
American from hantavirus cruise ship tests positive as passengers arrive in Nebraska
Watch: MV Hondius captain praises passengers’ ‘patience and discipline’ in emotional video message
Monday 11 May 2026 23:30 , Rebecca WhittakerExperts say risk to the public hasn't increased as seven cases now confirmed
Monday 11 May 2026 22:30 , Rebecca WhittakerA French woman and an American tested positive for hantavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to seven, but experts say the level of risk to the public has not changed.
Dr Giulia Gallo, Postdoctoral Scientist in the Viral Glycoproteins Group, The Pirbright Institute, said: “It is not surprising, the general hope was that no more cases would be detected, but given that it takes a considerable amount of time for symptoms to develop, health agencies have put in place protocols to minimise the risk of transmission to the healthy passengers, and the population, in case this would happen.”
“These potentially new cases derive from the same cluster of exposed people on the ship. Monitoring and quarantining passengers and crew staff is still the best approach to ensure that the rest of the population remains unaffected by this situation.”
Watch: Spanish health ministry provides update on cruise ship hit by hantavirus
Monday 11 May 2026 21:30 , Rebecca WhittakerThe risk of hantavirus to the public remains 'extremely low'
Monday 11 May 2026 20:30 , Rebecca WhittakerProfessor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the risk to the wider public was “extremely low” and people can “carry on your daily business”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme scientists were “working quite intensely” on understanding more about hantavirus.
“What we’ve seen so far is the individuals who have apparently contracted it from each other have been in very close contact. They’ve been sharing a cabin, for example, or had extremely close contact with someone who is strongly symptomatic.
“We think the virus primarily spreads only from people who have symptoms, so the risk from someone who is asymptomatic is extremely low.
“And if you think about the cruise ship setting, you know, this is a very close living situation so perhaps an area in which spread is more likely.
“It’s not the same as most people’s private living arrangements, and it’s definitely not the same as people who might pass someone in the street, for example. So the risk there is essentially negligible.”
Contacts from hantavirus-hit cruise are isolating in Germany
Monday 11 May 2026 19:30 , Rebecca WhittakerFour German contacts from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius are being monitored in a special isolation unit at Frankfurt University Hospital, German health authorities said.
The patients, who currently do not have any symptoms, will be transferred to Berlin, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein, where regional authorities will take over their care.
Frankfurt University Hospital said the four were brought in between midnight and 1am local time for medical checks and laboratory testing in Frankfurt and Marburg.
So far, there were "no indications of illness," Timo Wolf, head of the special isolation ward for highly pathogenic infections in Frankfurt, said in a statement.
Pictured: Paratroopers jump onto world’s most remote island to aid hantavirus-hit UK patient
Monday 11 May 2026 18:30 , Rebecca WhittakerA specialist team of army and medical paratroopers took a death-defying 8,000ft jump to deliver medical supplies to a man suffering from suspected hantavirus on the remote British overseas territory Tristan da Cunha.
Medics were flown 7,000 miles from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to the world’s most remote inhabited island in the South Atlantic ocean, arriving just days before the British national would have ran out of oxygen.
Britons evacuated from hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship return to UK
Monday 11 May 2026 17:30 , Rebecca WhittakerBritons evacuated from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak have arrived in the UK and have been taken to an isolation facility after being repatriated from Tenerife.
A chartered Titan Airways flight which transported the passengers from the Canary Islands landed at Manchester Airport on Sunday evening.
The 20 British passengers, who were tested for hantavirus before getting on the flight, will now isolate at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral.
Britons evacuated from hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship land in UK
WHO director-general shares 'profound sadness' after officer helping evacuate passengers dies
Monday 11 May 2026 16:30 , Rebecca WhittakerAn officer who was supporting the Spanish authorities in evacuating the MV Hondius in the Port of Granadilla died from a heart attack, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has shared in a post on X.
“I feel profound sadness over the passing of a @guardiacivil officer in Tenerife, who died last night from a heart attack, “ he said.
“The officer was supporting the operation of the Spanish authorities, in coordination with the WHO, to safely evacuate people from the MV Hondius in the Port of Granadilla to the airport for their repatriation.
“Emergency services at the dock immediately began resuscitation maneuvers, but, regrettably, they were unable to save his life.”
Siento una profunda tristeza por el fallecimiento de un agente de la @guardiacivil en Tenerife, quien murió anoche a causa de un infarto.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 11, 2026
El agente estaba apoyando la operación de las autoridades españolas, en coordinación con la OMS, para evacuar de forma segura a las personas… https://t.co/50W4IVUto1 pic.twitter.com/DW8M4wztQf
Recap: How many hantavirus cases have been confirmed?
Monday 11 May 2026 15:30 , Rebecca Whittaker- Seven cases of Andes hantavirus have been confirmed among passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship, as reported by the World Health Organization.
- Two additional cases are suspected, including the individual believed to be the first infected, who died before being tested.
- The outbreak has resulted in a total of three deaths.
- Twenty British passengers, who were tested for hantavirus, are now isolating at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside after arriving at Manchester Airport.
- UK health officials have commenced contact tracing for individuals who had contact with those evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius.
Watch: Passengers from hantavirus-hit ship spend first night at isolation facility
Monday 11 May 2026 15:10 , Rebecca WhittakerInside paratroopers death-defying 8,000ft jump onto world’s most remote island to aid hantavirus-hit UK patient
Monday 11 May 2026 14:50 , Rebecca WhittakerA specialist team of army and medical paratroopers took a death-defying 8,000ft jump to deliver medical supplies to a man suffering from suspected hantavirus on the remote British overseas territory Tristan da Cunha.
Medics were flown 7,000 miles from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to the world’s most remote inhabited island in the South Atlantic ocean, arriving just days before the British national would have ran out of oxygen.
In a first operation of its kind, six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade parachuted onto the island at 7pm on Saturday to offer assistance to the two exhausted medics on the island.
Read more here:
Inside paratroopers jump onto remote island to aid hantavirus-hit UK patient
British man with hantavirus 'gradually improving'
Monday 11 May 2026 14:30 , Rebecca WhittakerThe condition of a British man who was admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg after falling ill with hantavirus is gradually improving, a South African health ministry spokesperson said.
"The British patient is clinically improving but still ill," the spokesperson Foster Mohale said. "This means his condition is improving, gradually so."
The man was medically evacuated to South Africa on April 27 after presenting with a fever, shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia.
He disembarked from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius at Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean.
