South Africa says condition of British man with hantavirus is gradually improving

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The condition of a British man who was admitted to a ‌hospital in Johannesburg after falling ill with hantavirus aboard a luxury cruise ship is gradually improving, a South African health ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

"The British patient is clinically improving but ⁠still ill," the spokesperson, Foster Mohale, told Reuters. "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.

Hantaviruses are rodent-borne viruses that can infect people and cause illness.

The strain identified on the ship is ⁠the Andes hantavirus, which typically circulates in Argentina and Chile. The MV Hondius set off from ⁠Argentina and was carrying mostly British, American, and Spanish passengers.

Three people have died since ⁠the start of the outbreak - a Dutch couple and a German national.

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