Hondius Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak: One Canadian Passenger Tests Preliminary Positive

Central News Agency (CNA Montreal, May 16, comprehensive foreign report) — Canadian public health officials announced today that a 'high-risk' passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship has tested preliminarily positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus. Agence France-Presse reports that the patient is one of four Canadian citizens aboard the cruise ship that experienced a hantavirus outbreak. The ship, which was scheduled to depart from Argentina on April 1 for the Atlantic, had its journey cut short by the outbreak of the rare rodent-borne disease. The Public Health Agency of Canada stated in a release that officials from the western province of British Columbia reported: 'Among the four high-risk cases who are self-isolating and being monitored for symptoms, one has tested preliminarily positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus.' The Andes strain is the only known hantavirus that can be transmitted from person to person. The current global death toll remains at three. Officials stated that the patient and their spouse, who has mild symptoms, were hospitalized yesterday and will remain in isolation for observation. 'Out of an abundance of caution, a third individual, who was previously isolating in a secure location, has now been transferred to a hospital for assessment and testing,' the statement noted. The results of the confirmatory tests for hantavirus are expected in the coming days. The Public Health Agency of Canada emphasized: 'The overall risk to the general public in Canada related to the Andes-type hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship remains low.' There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for hantavirus, but health officials have dismissed comparisons between hantavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic. (Translation: Chen Yu-ting) 1150517