The UK may see a small number of cases of hantavirus in the wake of an outbreak on a cruise ship \u2013 but an expert in infectious diseases has said it is \u201cvery, very unlikely\u201d it will be \u201cakin to the Covid-19 pandemic\u201d.<\/p>\n
Professor Emma Thomson heads the MRC Centre for Virus Research at Glasgow University \u2013 one of only two centres in the UK currently researching hantavirus.<\/p>\n
Samples are currently being examined which were taken from passengers on the\u00a0MV Hondius, where an outbreak of the virus has led to at least 11 reported cases among passengers, including three deaths.<\/p>\n
Public Health Scotland warned on Thursday that a small number of people in Scotland have potentially had contact with the virus.<\/p>\n
The health agency said it is working to get in touch with \u201ca small number of individuals\u201d who could be affected.<\/p>\n
Prof Thomson said it \u201cwouldn\u2019t be very surprising if we found one or two positive tests in the UK, one or two positive people\u201d.<\/p>\n
This scenario would be \u201cin keeping with other countries and what they have seen\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n
But the expert told BBC Radio Scotland\u2019s Breakfast programme: \u201cI would expect that that could be managed very easily with the existing facilities we have.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very, very unlikely that something like this will turn into something akin to the Covid 19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes after it was announced that 10 Britons from South Atlantic islands connected to the cruise ship outbreak are to be brought to the UK in case they develop the illness.<\/p>\n
The group, thought to be residents of the UK overseas territories of St Helen and Ascension, are being \u201cbrought to the UK to complete their self-isolation as a precautionary measure\u201d, the UK Health Security Agency said.<\/p>\n
We are working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and colleagues across the UK, to respond to the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak and take appropriate action.<\/p>\n
Read our update here: https:\/\/t.co\/7CPXOwqiAf<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/D4XXK0Uujr<\/a><\/p>\n