A British man evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship is "doing well", health officials have said.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said three suspected hantavirus patients had been evacuated from the MV Hondius and flown to receive specialist medical care in the Netherlands.
Among them was Martin Anstee, 56, an expedition guide and former police officer, who was airlifted off the ship along with Dutch and German passengers.
Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed to Good Morning Britain that Anstee is "receiving medical care in the Netherlands and our understanding is that he is doing well and has spoken to friends and family".
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Anstee said: "I’m doing okay. I’m not feeling too bad. There are still lots of tests to be done.
“I have no idea how long I’ll be in the hospital for. I’m in isolation at the moment.”
There are currently five confirmed cases of the virus, and three suspected, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a WHO press conference on Thursday afternoon.
He said it was the Andes strain causing the outbreak, which is most likely transmitted between people in the same house, intimate partners, and those providing medical care.
Two British people who were on board the cruise are self-isolating after returning to the UK.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that neither of those people are reporting symptoms, and that several close contacts of those on the boat are also being “offered support and are also self-isolating”.
Dr Ghebreyesus said the ship – which has no remaining symptomatic passengers – is now sailing to the Canary Islands.
"We are confident in the capacity of Spain to manage this risk, and we’re supporting them to do so," he said.
Prof May said: "We believe the risk from asymptomatic people of transmission is extremely low."
The Foreign Office is arranging a charter flight so remaining Britons on board the ship who are not displaying symptoms can be repatriated once they dock in Tenerife, which is expected in the next couple of days.
According to the UKHSA, none of the British citizens on board are currently reporting symptoms, but are being closely monitored.
Nineteen British nationals were listed as passengers on the cruise and four British crew members. It was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde.
Seven British passengers were among 30 people who disembarked from the ship at Saint Helena on April 24, according to cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
All of the disembarked guests have been contacted, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
Prof May said: “For the individuals that are on the ship at the moment, we’re working, obviously, to repatriate them as soon as we possibly can.
"The Foreign Office is leading on that, and once they’re back, they’re going to be asked to self-isolate."
The general consensus for the self isolation period is “probably six weeks" and that it’s "45 days that we’re likely to be recommending”.
He added that the “most extreme case of incubation” of hantavirus “may be up to eight weeks”.
He also said: "We’ll continue to support them and their families whilst they self isolate, probably at home, but obviously depends very much on the individual circumstances, depending on where they live and who they live with, as to what the most appropriate mechanism is for them to self-isolate for the next 45 days.”
Prof May explained that hantaviruses as a group are widespread around the world.
“The Andean strain, is the only one for which there is some evidence in the past of human to human transmission, and so that’s obviously our primary focus here,” he said.
