British doctors parachute onto island to help countryman infected with hantavirus

British army medics have parachuted to the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha to help a countryman who is likely infected with hantavirus, the BBC reported today.

He left the MV Hondius ship, where a deadly virus outbreak broke out, in mid-April near the outermost British overseas territory, where he lives.

He reported his first symptoms two weeks after leaving the ship and is reportedly in stable condition, in isolation.

A team of six paratroopers, as well as two medical workers, parachuted onto the island, part of an archipelago in the South Atlantic.

This is the first time that the British military has parachuted medical personnel to provide humanitarian support, the British Ministry of Defense reported.

Tristan da Cunha has 221 inhabitants, does not have an airstrip and can only be reached by sea - by boat.

Three people have died in the outbreak. The WHO has confirmed that in addition to the six confirmed cases of hantavirus, there are two suspected cases of hantavirus, including the aforementioned Briton from the island of Tristan da Cunha.

On Saturday, British Air Force aircraft also parachuted oxygen, whose supplies on the island are at critical levels, the British Ministry of Defense announced.

Almost a month after the first death from hantavirus on board the MV Hondius, the cruise ship arrived in Tenerife this morning where authorities are helping more than 100 people evacuate and be repatriated to their countries of origin.

Hantavirus is a group of viruses that are transmitted by rodents. Most strains of hantavirus are not transmitted from person to person, but the Andes strain, which has been identified in several people on a cruise ship, is.

The Briton, who lives on the island of Tristan da Cunha, disembarked on April 14, the World Health Organization said. He reported diarrhea and fever on April 28, two days later. He is currently in stable condition and in isolation.

Twenty-two British passengers from the cruise ship are due to be flown home from Tenerife on a charter flight. They will be taken to Arrow Park Hospital in Wirral where they will be isolated for 45 days.

The risk to the general public remains very low, the Ministry of Defense said.