Vancouver, May 18: The National Institutes of Health of Canada confirmed yesterday that one of the four Canadians who returned home from a cruise ship infected with Hantavirus has tested positive.
According to information provided by the National Institutes of Health of Canada yesterday, one of the four Canadian citizens who returned from the MV Hondius cruise ship has tested positive for Hantavirus. Another passenger has tested negative. The health of the other two is being monitored in hospital, it was said.
All four were immediately placed in isolation after returning to British Columbia on May 10. The person who tested positive and the woman who was with them, both residents of Yukon, are currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Victoria.
It is highly likely that the infection was spread during the journey on the ship. At least 10 people on board the ship, including passengers and crew, have been confirmed to be infected, with three of them dead.
The deceased include a Dutch couple who are believed to have contracted the virus while on a trip to South America.
Investigators said the virus may have spread to other passengers in the environment on board the ship.
According to Health Canada, the risk to the general public is low at this stage. All confirmed cases have been linked to the ship and there is no indication of community spread.
Hantavirus is usually spread through rat droppings and is rarely transmitted from person to person. However, the ‘Andes Strain’ found on this ship is the only one capable of spreading from person to person through close contact. It causes severe respiratory problems and has a mortality rate of up to 40%, according to the WHO.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has clarified that the infected person was previously isolated from the public, and therefore the risk to the general public in the country is “very low.”
It is not easily transmitted through the air like Covid, experts said, and is only spread through prolonged close contact.