New suspected hantavirus cases found in Spain and remote Tristan da Cunha

Two new suspected cases of hantavirus were reported on Friday, one in Spain and the other on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, as experts race to contain an outbreak that began on a luxury cruise ship.

The announcements in locations thousands of miles apart will fuel concern about a cluster of cases so far associated with three deaths – though the World Health Organisation has repeatedly said the risk to the wider public is low and the virus does not transmit easily.