Hantavirus: a suspected case on one of the most isolated islands in the world, the British army parachutes soldiers and medical equipment there

This is a “first” for the British army, according to the Ministry of Defence. This Saturday, the United Kingdom parachuted soldiers and medical equipment onto the isolated island of Tristan da Cunha, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, to come to the aid of one of its nationals, a former passenger of the “MV Hondius” considered to be a suspected case of hantavirus.

“This operation marks a first for the British Army, which has deployed medical personnel by parachute to provide humanitarian aid, thus demonstrating its ability to intervene very quickly around the world for various missions,” writes the British Ministry of Defense in a press release, published this Sunday.

In Great Britain, the National Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that a British national had been classified as a suspected case, in addition to two confirmed cases. This national is in Tristan da Cunha where the “MV Hondius” stopped at the end of April.

Tristan da Cunha “is the most isolated inhabited British Overseas Territory,” according to the press release. It is also one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world. It is located in the South Atlantic, south of the island of Sainte-Hélène (well known to the French for having sheltered Napoleon there during his exile), “does not have an airstrip and is normally only accessible by boat”.

In detail, it is a “team of army specialists” which was parachuted “with medical personnel in tandem as well as oxygen reserves and medical equipment”. “The team, made up of six paratroopers and two military nurses, all belonging to the 16th airborne brigade, was dropped from a transport plane,” the press release said. “Simultaneously, life-saving doses of oxygen and other medical supplies were parachuted onto this isolated island,” he continued.

“Faced with critical oxygen reserves on the island, an airdrop of medical personnel was the only way to provide vital care to the patient in time,” said the British Ministry of Defense. This operation will also strengthen the island’s health system by providing support to Tristan da Cunha’s two-person medical team. HAS”

Around twenty Britons, who were on board the “MV Hondius” where an outbreak of hantavirus was detected, were to be evacuated to a hospital near Liverpool (England) for a “period of isolation”. The plane bringing back the five French people evacuated from the ship in the morning from the ship “MV Hondius” landed at Le Bourget airport around 4:30 p.m. this Sunday. They were transported to hospital, where they must be placed in quarantine for 72 hours, while a complete assessment is carried out.