The United Kingdom has confirmed a third case of hantavirus infection among British citizens, Reuters reported on May 8, citing the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

According to the report, the infection was detected in a British national on the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic.

Media reports noted that on April 24, seven people disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius on the South Atlantic archipelago. UKHSA stated that two of them are currently self-isolating in the United Kingdom, four are on the island of Saint Helena, and one person was identified outside the UK.

Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a hantavirus outbreak aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, which was traveling from the Argentine port of Ushuaia to Cape Verde. Three deaths have been confirmed so far — a married couple from the Netherlands and a German woman.

WHO specialists determined that the outbreak was caused by the Andes strain, a rare variant of hantavirus native to South America. Unlike most other hantavirus strains, it can spread from person to person through very close contact.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on May 7 that additional hantavirus cases could still be identified in connection with the situation on the cruise ship.