The Colombian singer says the court ruling means the “narrative” that she was guilty now “crumbles”.
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Medicine rarely achieves instant returns. We reach for a drug, we watch and wait, we manage rather than cure.
So, when something can be fixed quickly and simply, it is genuinely one of the most satisfying moments in the job.
Take Jo, a patient I saw recently who came to me in a state of real anxiety after she seemingly overnight developed tinnitus.
She knew people whose lives had been turned upside down by the condition – the relentless ringing, buzzing or hissing that only you can hear, with no external source and no off switch. She was frightened it was going to happen to her too.
Tinnitus is far more common than most people realise, affecting around one in ten of us. It can be profoundly debilitating – disrupting sleep, eroding concentration, and driving anxiety and depression.
The sounds vary: ringing, buzzing, whooshing, clicking, whistling, a constant tone. For some people it comes and goes; for others it never stops. Jo’s was a ringing in both ears.
She had also noticed her hearing wasn’t as sharp as it used to be – her husband complained she was shouting and had the television up too loud, while she was convinced, he was mumbling.
When I looked in her ears, I found the answer almost immediately: Both ear canals were packed with dark, hard, dry wax.
Ear wax lubricates and protects the ear, but when it builds up and hardens, it causes hearing loss and irritates the eardrum. That irritation, in turn, can produce tinnitus
Wax has a purpose: it lubricates and protects the ear.
But when it builds up and hardens, it blocks the ear canal, causes hearing loss and irritates the eardrum. That irritation, in turn, can produce tinnitus.
I prescribed a week of daily olive oil ear drops to soften the wax. Following this routine, the wax should slowly dislodge, opening the eardrum and reducing the tinnitus.
I explained to Jo, as I do to all my patients, that cotton ear buds are never the solution to ear wax build–ups.
This is because the sticks can push the wax further in, further worsening hearing or tinnitus problems.
Jo also decided to pay to have her ears microsuctioned – where the wax is removed by a healthcare professional using a small suction device.
However, for most patients, olive oil drops should do the job.
Once the wax was removed, Jo’s recovery was miraculous. Her hearing returned to normal and the ringing stopped. Now she thinks it is her husband who is shouting.
It is such a simple fix, and yet I am constantly surprised by how many tinnitus sufferers have never been told to check their ears for wax.
Moreover, in this situation, while I prescribed the olive oil drops, these products are available over the counter in most pharmacies.
Unfortunately, microsuction is generally no longer offered at most GP surgeries – due to NHS cost–cutting – meaning patients will typically have to pay around £60 for it. But, for many, it can be transformative.
Of course, ear wax is not the cause of every case of tinnitus. Another is a little-known condition called temporomandibular joint syndrome – or TMJ.
The temporomandibular joint is the hinge that connects your jawbone to your skull, and when it is not working properly, this can trigger tinnitus.
The TMJ sits in very close proximity to the ear, and the two share nerve pathways. Dysfunction in this joint, whether caused by teeth grinding, jaw clenching, arthritis or poor bite alignment, can produce tinnitus alongside the more obvious symptoms of jaw pain, clicking, painful chewing, headaches and earache.
This is why I always routinely ask tinnitus patients whether they have any of these symptoms now.
And the good news is that treating TMJ dysfunction can bring real relief for tinnitus. This usually starts with jaw exercises and a custom-fitted mouth guard worn at night to reduce grinding and clenching, combined with anti-inflammatory medication.
Presenter Zoe Ball, 55, revealed in 2024 that she suffers from temporomandibular joint syndrome – or TMJ – which can be a cause of tinnitus
Where those measures are not enough, Botox injections into the jaw muscles can reduce clenching very effectively, and steroid injections directly into the joint are another option.
As the joint settles, tinnitus often improves alongside it.
Certain medications can also cause tinnitus as a side effect, including anti-inflammatories, aspirin and some antibiotics.
In some cases, this is reversible when the medication is stopped or changed, but patients should never alter or stop any prescribed medicine without speaking to their doctor first.
For some patients, tinnitus can be linked to later-life hearing loss.
Hearing degrades over time and, in some cases, this can lead to tinnitus. The same issue can occur in patients who have had their hearing damaged by long term exposure to loud noises.
For these patients, hearing aids can often help reduce tinnitus symptoms. In fact, more than half of people report meaningful improvement in their tinnitus when wearing hearing aids, though it typically returns when the aids come out.
Some devices now include built-in white noise generators for additional tinnitus relief.
White noise is a constant sound that doesn’t change in pitch or volume – typically, something that sounds a bit like static coming from the un-tuned radio, or a fan.
For tinnitus relief, it works as sound therapy to provide a steady, neutral background noise, which helps reduce the contrast between the internal ‘ringing’ and the quiet environment.
GP, author and broadcaster Dr Philippa Kaye
However, the truth is that, for many patients, the underlying cause of the tinnitus will never be identified. For many, it can occur out of nowhere. But that does not mean, for these patients, it can’t be resolved.
Cognitive behavioural therapy – a form of talking therapy – has strong evidence behind it for tinnitus: it does not silence the sound, but it changes your relationship with it, helping you identify unhelpful thought patterns, improve sleep and reduce the spike of anxiety that the ringing can trigger.
Sound therapy includes standalone white noise machines, tinnitus apps, or simply a radio tuned to static at night – all make it easier for the brain to ‘tune out’ the tinnitus.
Fascinatingly, there is also a new treatment that could revolutionise treatment. It’s called the Lenire device and it uses a combination of sound therapy and mild electrical stimulation of the tongue.
The science behind it is complex, but a recent study of over 200 patients reported more than a 90 per cent improvement rate at 12 weeks. It’s currently only available privately, often at prohibitive costs of around £4,000. However, it is possible that it may be adopted on the NHS in the future.
Tinnitus is more than just a sound in your ear, it can really have an impact on your life. But, at the same time, it is invisible to doctors who are often too quick to dismiss it as a minor issue.
That’s why it’s so important that patients ask to be checked for the most common causes, including ear wax build-up, TMJ syndrome and hearing loss.
Finding the cause could be the way to find a life-changing solution.
Here we are then. Thirty years on from Fuzzy Logic and the halcyon days of the late 90s. The Cold War was over! The economy was on the up! We were all middle class now! Time, and, inevitably, the course of events, has shown that the optimism of those days was a brief summer, a sunny interval, rather than just the way things were going to be from now on.
The sunshine pop of Super Furry Animals’ back catalogue still has the potential to cheer, though, and there are a lot of middle-aged men and women here who are grateful for the opportunity to spend of couple of hours revisiting those youthful days, before the mortgage payments meant having to take any notice of interest rate announcements from the Bank Of England. At the end of this there will still be the Monday morning meeting to attend, the monthly sales spreadsheet will still need updating, but for now they can dance to Northern Lites and remember what it felt like when this music was new and everything felt so very fresh.
And SFA know exactly what their audience want, throwing out one crowdpleaser after another over the course of a set focused entirely on the hits. It’s almost wall-to-wall singles tonight, with only the occasional beloved album track thrown in the mix. All of the songs are drawn from the first decade of their career, with nothing from their three most recent albums; this probably tallies with audience expectations, but prompts some melancholy reflection on the later part of the band’s career.
It’s a testament to just how rich the first half of their career was, however, that many songs unplayed tonight wouldn’t be out of place in this hits-larded set. The absence of Hometown Unicorn feels particularly noteworthy. The songs which are played are executed flawlessly, with regular outbreaks of crowd singalongs, and this is the chief component in the love that the band are being shown tonight.
The greatest part of SFA’s appeal as a live act has always been their proficiency at recreating the cloudless sounds of those early records. They do the vocal harmonies, they play the instrumental breaks as they are on the record, and you can rest easy in the knowledge that they’re never going to treat the audience to a 12-minute jazz-funk reinterpretation of one of their pop-shaped perfect classics.
For a band known for employing creative visual content, frequent costume changes and a multitude of stage props, tonight’s performance is somewhat muted. The band are dressed in civvies, the video screen behind the band mostly shows coloured abstractions, and there are no tanks onstage – although one of the giant inflatables from the Radiator era flanks the stage to the right.
The performance culminates as it was always going to, with a blazing version of The Man Don’t Give A Fuck. The fans roar at one last chance to sing along, and when the group leave the stage at the end of the song the audience unites in chants of “More!” After several minutes soundtracked by a looped techno breakdown, the band reappear on stage, in their yeti costumes, to finish the song and soak up the adulation of the audience.
And that’s it. There will be no encore, Cardiff. As they traipse out into cool drizzle, the middle-aged men and women, reality begins to reassert itself. But for a too-brief couple of hours it was glorious summer.
Super Furry Animals, Utilita Arena Cardiff, Sat 16 May
words DAVID GRIFFITHS photos TIM ALBAN
The deadly Ebola virus rampaging through central Africa is a rare strain that has no approved vaccine or targeted treatment, experts have warned.
Last night, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after cases spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo into neighbouring Uganda.
Health officials fear the true scale of the outbreak could be far larger than currently known, with around 246 suspected cases and 80 reported deaths already linked to the virus.
Dr Daniela Manno, Clinical Assistant Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, described the outbreak as ‘concerning’ and warned the virus may have been spreading undetected for weeks before it was formally identified.
She said: ‘The number of suspected cases reported before confirmation suggests transmission may have been ongoing for several weeks before the outbreak was formally recognised.’
Scientists say the current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola – a form of the disease seen in only two previous outbreaks.
Prof Emma Thompson, director of the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, warned: ‘We do not currently have a proven, licensed, Bundibugyo-virus-specific vaccine available for outbreak control and further urgent research is required.
‘The same applies to therapeutics. Approved monoclonal antibody treatments such as Inmazeb and Ebanga were developed for disease caused by Ebola virus, not Bundibugyo virus, and their efficacy against other ebolaviruses has not been established.’
The WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency after cases spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo into neighbouring Uganda. Pictured: A health worker at an Ebola transit centre in Beni in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in May 2019
A hospital staff member checks a visitor’s temperature using a contactless infrared thermometer, before allowing her access to the hospital in Goma on May 17, 2026
Experts say the outbreak is particularly difficult to contain because it is unfolding in a region affected by armed conflict, mass displacement and heavy cross-border movement.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, including blood and vomit, making it far less transmissible than airborne viruses such as Covid–19.
Experts maintain the risk to the UK is very low.
In the 2013-16 West African outbreak, there were only a handful of cases in Europe despite almost 30,000 cases in West Africa.
But scientists warn the virus can still be devastating.
Dr Natsuko Imai, Research Lead in Epidemics and Epidemiology at Wellcome, said ‘this evolving situation is concerning’.
Dr Anne Cori, associate professor in infectious disease modelling at Imperial College London, said previous Bundibugyo outbreaks suggested around one in three infected patients died.
Symptoms typically begin suddenly with fever, headache, muscle pain and fatigue before progressing to vomiting, diarrhoea, organ failure and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding.
The WHO stressed the outbreak does not currently meet the criteria for a pandemic, but said the international emergency declaration would help mobilise funding, surveillance and cross–border coordination.
The agency urged neighbouring countries to strengthen screening and monitoring measures but advised against border closures or travel bans.
Rwanda has already announced tighter border screening measures as a precaution.
Scientists say rapid contact tracing, isolation of cases, safe burials and community engagement will now be critical to preventing the outbreak from spreading further.
Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in what is now DR Congo. This marks the country’s 17th recorded outbreak of the deadly virus.
DR Congo’s deadliest outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people.
A commission said tackling the divide would be central to its work
The Government is facing mounting pressure for reform as one group of Britons are heading into retirement with half the pension savings of their peers.
Women approaching retirement age have just half the private pension wealth of men – sparking renewed demands for an overhaul to address what campaigners describe as a “motherhood penalty”. A stark warning from the Pensions Commission reveals that women nearing later life have median pension savings of £81,000, compared with £156,000 for men.
The government-backed body is now urging ministers to take action, cautioning that a failure to bridge the gap risks deepening pensioner poverty and placing further strain on public finances.
The commission said addressing the gender divide would be at the heart of its work on the long-term future of Britain’s retirement system. It warned that the imbalance is “not only a matter of fairness” but could leave vast numbers of women financially vulnerable in old age.
‘Motherhood penalty’ hits savings
Analysis supporting the report highlights a clear trend: women’s pension contributions stagnate following the birth of their first child.
Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found women typically contribute around £30 a week into pensions before their first child – a figure that remains unchanged even six years later.
By contrast, men’s contributions climb sharply over the same period, doubling from roughly £30 a week to more than £60. This growing disparity is further exacerbated by the fact that women are considerably more likely to work part-time or leave the workforce altogether due to caring responsibilities — frequently missing out on automatic enrolment into workplace pension schemes.
UK among worst performers
The commission cautioned that Britain has one of the largest gender pension gaps in the developed world, ranking as the second worst among OECD nations, behind only Japan.
This is in spite of men and women now receiving broadly comparable state pension outcomes upon reaching retirement age.
Lady Jeannie Drake, who chairs the commission, told the Guardian: “The evidence is clear. Women are approaching retirement with half the pension wealth of men, and without further action, this difference will persist.
“The gender pensions gap is not simply a reflection of the pay gap, it is shaped by a system that has not yet fully accounted for the realities of many women’s working lives.”
Calls for ‘joined-up’ reforms
The commission stated that tackling the issue will require a “joined-up approach” — combining pension reforms with broader changes to the labour market, including improved access to childcare.
It is anticipated to explore potential policy solutions ahead of a full set of recommendations due next year.
The body itself was originally established under Tony Blair in 2002 and was revived last year by Sir Keir Starmer amid growing concerns that today’s workers could find themselves worse off in retirement than current pensioners.
“There’s a real clock on it because one of the things that frightens me most of all is when people say, ‘We’ll miss the BBC when it’s gone’. I certainly will and you certainly will, but I’m not sure that our children will, or their children will, because they don’t have the nostalgia around the BBC.”
For an estimated two thirds of Britons, popping a vitamin pill has become a daily ritual in the pursuit of better sleep, glowing skin and perfect health.
But could an even better way of topping up nutrient levels be through the skin?
In recent years, so-called wellness patches – worn like a plaster on the arm, leg or elsewhere on the body and designed to slowly release ingredients into the bloodstream – have become an increasingly common sight on supermarket shelves.
Infused with vitamins and other nutrients, the patches claim to tackle everything from low energy and weak immunity to anxiety, weight management and period pain.
Celebrity endorsements have helped fuel interest. Meghan Markle has been photographed wearing one on her wrist, while Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence is reportedly never without them.
Most wellness patches fall into two broad categories: vitamin patches containing nutrients such as B vitamins, vitamin C and zinc, and herbal patches infused with ingredients including lavender, eucalyptus, turmeric and glucosamine.
Manufacturers say they use the same technology found in nicotine and hormone replacement therapy patches, arguing that bypassing the digestive system allows ingredients to be absorbed more effectively.
But experts warn the evidence is far from conclusive. So are wellness patches the future of supplements – or simply another expensive fad?
Infused with vitamins and other nutrients, wellness patches claim to tackle everything from low energy and weak immunity to anxiety, weight management and period pain
How do wellness patches work?
Wellness patches are designed to release ingredients steadily through the skin and into the bloodstream over several hours.
Most are made up of several layers – typically a waterproof backing layer that protects the patch, a drug reservoir or matrix, where the active ingredient is stored, and an adhesive layer, which sticks the patch to the skin.
In patches that use a matrix – the most common type – the drug is mixed with a gel or adhesive that allows the active ingredient to slowly diffuse out and into the skin.
In reservoir patches, the drug sits in a liquid or gel reservoir behind a semi-permeable membrane that controls the release rate. Older nicotine patches often used this design.
Professor Penny Ward, an expert in pharmaceuticals at King’s College London, says there is some evidence that certain transdermal technologies can effectively deliver specific vitamins and minerals through the skin.
However, she warns that research into how much of an active ingredient actually reaches the bloodstream, and how that compares with oral supplements, remains limited.
The key issue, experts say, is that the skin is a highly effective barrier.
While it can absorb certain small, fat-soluble molecules, many common supplement ingredients, particularly water-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin C and B vitamins, are not easily absorbed in meaningful amounts this way.
According to consumer watchdog Which? there is currently a lack of robust independent clinical evidence showing that vitamin patches significantly raise nutrient levels in the body or outperform traditional oral supplements.
A handful of small studies exist, but results are mixed, and there is little evidence the patches work long term.
Dr Carrie Ruxton, dietician and co-founder of Salt St Andrews gym, says that while there is widespread risk of nutrient deficiency in the UK, patches are unlikely to solve the problem.
‘While a few studies show that small amounts of iron and Vitamin D can be absorbed from patches, the impact on blood levels is minimal and, for many people, the patches don’t work at all,’ she says.
Why choose a patch over a pill?
Manufacturers argue that patches offer a useful alternative for people who struggle to swallow tablets or who have digestive issues that may affect absorption.
The ‘peel, stick and go’ format is also marketed as a convenient option for those who dislike taking multiple pills.
The wellness patch technology is intended to deliver ingredients gradually through the skin barrier
However, experts say traditional supplements still have far stronger evidence behind them.
Dr Ruxton adds: ‘I would recommend oral supplements rather than patches, unless there is a specific reason why people can’t swallow them, for example in the case of stroke or disabilities.’
The patches also come at a premium. Kind’s Boost Patch costs £12 for a month’s supply, while Boots multivitamin tablets cost £6.60 for six months, meaning 30 days of patches can cost almost as much as a year of pills.
What supplements should you be taking?
Most people should get the nutrients they need from a healthy, balanced diet, although some groups may benefit from supplements.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women, for example, are often advised to take supplements such as folic acid and Vitamin D to support fetal development and maternal health.
‘Key nutrients which we lack are potassium, magnesium, zinc, iodine, Vitamin A and Vitamin D.
‘Up to four in 10 teenagers and adults are clinically deficient in the sunshine vitamin every spring.’
The NHS advises adults and children over four to consider taking a daily 10 microgram Vitamin D supplement during autumn and winter, when sunlight exposure is limited.
Ms Ward adds: ‘In general, people eating a well balanced diet should not need to take vitamin supplements.
‘But individuals with malabsorption, various bowel disorders or those intolerant to dairy foods may require supplements to avoid vitamin deficiency.
‘The patches might be an alternative to oral supplements if needed, but people should seek medical or nutrition advice to check that the dose taken is right for them.’
How are wellness patches regulated?
One of the major concerns surrounding wellness patches is dosage consistency.
Unlike licensed medicines, most wellness patches are not required to demonstrate how much of an active ingredient actually enters the bloodstream or whether it does so at a reliable level.
This makes it difficult to assess their true effectiveness compared with standard supplements.
Experts say this leaves a gap between marketing claims and scientific evidence, particularly as social media-driven wellness trends continue to grow.
Daily Mail previously tested Meghan Markle-linked anti-stress patches and found the effects appeared to be largely placebo-driven, with any feelings of calm proving short-lived.
Some users highly rate the patches, but experts caution that any benefits may simply be down to placebo effects, lifestyle changes or the reassurance of taking proactive steps towards better health.
Overall, experts remain cautious.
While vitamin patches are unlikely to be harmful for most people, there is currently little evidence they are a reliable or better way to deliver nutrients compared with traditional supplements.
A rat virus survivor has revealed how the potentially fatal disease left her in a coma, within an inch of her life and with excruciating long term effects.
Jennifer Benewiat, 43, told the Daily Mail she experienced ICU psychosis and had to learn how to walk and shower again after coming down with hantavirus nearly 16 years ago.
Mother–of–three Benewiat, of Kansas, contracted the illness in December 2010 over Christmas.
After driving an hour home to Wichita from Hutchinson, she passed out on her doorstep. This led to her eventually being hospitalized with doctors later telling her that she might die.
Benewiat was placed on a ventilator for 10 days, causing her body to be paralyzed from the neck down.
She does not remember anything during those days in hospital and had to be taught ‘all the things a normal person does in a day’ again during her recovery from the virus, which has a 40 percent fatality rate.
Benewiat told the Daily Mail that she had ‘a little bit of a trauma kind of response’ when she heard about the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship that has left three dead and put America on alert as it monitors patients with potential symptoms.
Benewiat said she still feels the effects of hantavirus in her daily life, despite having overcome the illness more than a decade ago. ‘I have muscle weakness and numbness and tingling in my extremities,’ she told the Daily Mail.
Jennifer Benewiat, 43, contracted the hantavirus in December 2010 and was placed on a ventilator, with doctors telling her she might die
A rendering of hantavirus under a microscope. So far three people have died in the cruise ship outbreak
The hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship (pictured) has left 10 sickened and put the world on alert as it monitors whether the virus will spread
She is now able to do everything she did before but admitted: ‘I just can’t do them as quickly as I used to do.
‘Doing housework and stuff like that, I have to take breaks more often than I used to.’
Benewiat described how she felt after collapsing at her door. ‘I was exhausted and had a fever, but I had work the next day, so I figured I would sleep it off and be fine in the morning,’ she said.
However, this did not happen. Benewiat woke up hours later, vomiting and with her fever peaking even higher – at more than 103 degrees.
Her sister, KJ, rushed her to the hospital in the morning but all the tests performed on Benewiat ‘found nothing.’
‘Everything was negative no flu, no nothing. The doctor was as puzzled as I was,’ she told the Daily Mail.
Benewiat was sent home with medicine to relieve her symptoms only to feel even worse the following day.
That time, Benewiat’s mom rushed her to the emergency room, where her oxygen began dropping precipitously.
Passengers are sprayed with disinfectant by Spanish government officials before boarding a plane after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at Tenerife airport on May 10
Benewiat, pictured with her three sons, told the Daily Mail she had to relearn how to walk, eat and shower after contracting the rat virus more than a decade ago
Benewiat said she felt scared because she had no idea what was happening to her.
‘They couldn’t tell me what was going on because they didn’t know,’ she said. ‘All they knew was that I wasn’t breathing right and so they had to do something to help me breathe.’
Benewiat said her body was ‘rejecting all of the treatment’ and she was not tested for hantavirus until one of her Sedgwick County Jail colleagues, Audrey Griffin, recognized her symptoms.
Griffin was from the Four Corners area – where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet – and where a hantavirus outbreak took place in 1993, killing 27 people nationwide.
Benewiat’s test took 10 days to come back and she was placed on a ventilator the entire time.
‘During that 10 day period, I don’t remember anything,’ Benewiat told the Daily Mail. ‘Even when I was awake and aware, I don’t remember any of it.’
The doctors eventually confirmed she had hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which stunned her.
‘I’d never heard about it. When they told me what it was, I was like, ‘What is that? How did I get that?’
Some of the last passengers of the MV Hondius depart for the airport to leave from Granadilla Port in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on May 11
Eventually, Benewiat’s parents decided to insert a tracheostomy tube into her neck, as the ventilator was not meant to be long term.
Then, Benewiat’s fortunes suddenly changed. ‘The doctors came to do the tube and, to everyone’s amazement, I started to breathe on my own,’ she said.
Benewiat said she does not remember anything until two days after being taken off the ventilator.
She said she suffered from ICU psychosis, where she was ‘seeing things and hearing things and I was just kind of crazy there for a few days.’
Benewiat told the Daily Mail she lost about 65 pounds and that her subsequent rehabilitation at a Wichita center was ‘very, very, very, very difficult.’
‘The first day I was there, they immediately tried to get me the stand and my legs weren’t working,’ Benewiat recalled.
She added: ‘It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Imagine a baby having to learn to crawl or walk.’
Benewiat said it took her one month to walk well enough that she could be supported by a walker.
The MV Hondius cruise ship leaving the port of Granadilla de Abona in Tenerife, Spain, on May 11
‘It was painful,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘A learning experience.’
Benewiat also had to learn how feed herself and shower again, which took an additional month of ‘intense’ therapy.
To this day, it is still unclear how and where Benewiat contracted hantavirus.
‘The health department came out to my home, and they came out to my work at the jail, and they never found anything that could say it was definitely there,’ she told the Daily Mail.
However she posed her own hypothesis. ‘I did go to a Christmas tree farm two weeks prior to getting sick, so my sister and my mom thought they kind of narrowed it down to that time period,’ Benewiat told the Daily Mail. ‘But I don’t know for sure.’
The current hantavirus outbreak relates to the Andes strain which can be passed person-to-person but Benewiat had a different strain – the Sin Nombre virus that is contracted from inhaling virus particles shed in the urine, droppings, or saliva of infected deer mice.
A bus carrying passengers caught up in the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak arrives at a purpose-built quarantine facility located on the outskirts of Perth, Australia on May 15
Forty-one Americans across 16 states are now being monitored for hantavirus symptoms.
So far 10 people from the cruise ship have fallen sick from the virus including the three who have died.
Before the outbreak was identified on the cruise ship, 29 passengers disembarked from the Hondius on Saint Helena on April 24 – the destination marking the end of the first leg of the trip.
Health authorities are rushing to identify any potential contact cases who may have contracted the virus from those who left the ship before the virus was identified.
According to the CDC, as of the end of 2023, 890 cases of hantavirus were reported in the United States since surveillance began in 1993.
Liz and Rachel set out the NHS App’s journey from digital front door to lifelong companion – meeting people where they are, at home and on demand.
Based on their joint presentation at Digital Health Rewired in spring 2026.
Here’s what you need to know
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a significant change that could affect hundreds of thousands of benefit claimants across the country.
Tens of millions of people throughout the UK receive some form of benefit, according to recent figures, with the financial support designed to help those on a low income. The DWP oversees the distribution of numerous benefits, as well as the State Pension, with payments typically made fortnightly, every four weeks, or monthly.
However, when a scheduled payment date falls on a bank holiday, claimants can expect it to be brought forward. This applies to anyone due to receive money on Monday, May 25, which marks the Spring bank holiday across the UK.
The DWP has confirmed that anyone expecting a payment on Monday should instead receive it on Friday, May 22. HMRC has also indicated that certain payments due next Monday will likewise be issued this Friday.
Affected benefits are likely to include Universal Credit, Child Benefit, and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), with State Pension payments potentially impacted as well.
A similar adjustment took place earlier this month, when Monday, May 4, fell on the Early May bank holiday. Following the upcoming bank holiday on Monday, May 24, there will be no further bank holidays in England or Wales until August, meaning benefit payment dates are unlikely to shift again until at least that point.
Scotland will observe a bank holiday on June 15, while July 13 is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland.
