Canadian cruise passenger ‘presumptive positive’ for rare human-to-human hantavirus after MV Hondius outbreak

MONTREAL, May 17 — Canadian public health officials said Saturday a “high risk” passenger who was aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius tested “presumptive positive” for the Andes hantavirus.

The patient was one of four Canadians aboard the hantavirus-stricken vessel, which set sail on April 1 from Argentina on a course across the Atlantic Ocean until the outbreak of the rare rodent-carried disease.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement that officials from the western province of British Columbia “reported that one of the four high risk individuals who was self-isolating and being monitored for symptoms has tested presumptive positive for Andes hantavirus.”

The Andes strain of hantavirus is the only one known to spread between people.

Globally, the death toll remains at three.

The patient and their spouse, who reported minor symptoms, were transported to a hospital on Friday, where they will remain in isolation, officials said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, a third individual who was in secure lodging for isolation has been transferred to hospital for assessment and testing,” the statement said.

Results of tests to confirm hantavirus infection were expected in the next couple of days.

“The overall risk to the general population in Canada from the Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship remains low at this time,” the public health agency stressed.

No vaccines or specific treatments for hantavirus exist, but health officials have dismissed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic. — AFP