The UK nationals left the ship, which is on its way to the Canary Islands, in late April. They have no symptoms but contacted health officials when they heard of the outbreak.

A third UK national is among three suspected infected people that have been evacuated in the Netherlands to receive medical care.

The UKHSA said the remaining British nationals will be repatriated once the ship docks at its next destination if they do not develop symptoms.

Dr Meera Chand, deputy director for epidemic and emerging infections at UKHSA, said: ‘Our thoughts are with all those affected by the hantavirus outbreak onboard the MV Hondius.

‘It's important to reassure people that the risk to the general public remains very low. We are standing up arrangements to support, isolate and monitor British nationals from the ship on their return to the UK and we are contact tracing anyone who may have been in contact with the ship or the hantavirus cases to limit the risk of onward transmission.'

Hantavirus is a group of viruses carried by rodents and transmitted by their droppings and urine. It can cause a range of diseases from mild, flu-like illness to severe respiratory illness.

Three people have died on the ship, which set sail from Argentina a month ago, following the outbreak.

Most hantaviruses do not spread easily between humans, although person-to person transmission has been observed in some cases involving particular strains.

The World Health Organization is leading the international response to the incident.