A British national is in enforced isolation on a remote South Pacific island tonight, after exposure to the deadly hantavirus. Sources confirm the woman, whose identity is being withheld, was part of a scientific research team on the island of Ambryn in Vanuatu. The virus, which can cause severe respiratory failure and has a mortality rate of up to 40 percent, was detected in a local rodent population.
The woman is understood to have been in close contact with infected animals. She is now being held in a sealed medical facility as authorities scramble to contain a potential outbreak. The island's limited healthcare infrastructure has raised fears of a wider catastrophe.
A World Health Organisation team is en route, but the isolation protocol is already in place. No further cases have been reported, but the incubation period for hantavirus can be up to six weeks. The Foreign Office has confirmed it is providing consular support.
This is a developing story.
