Canada cruise passenger tests presumptive positive for hantavirus

A Canadian passenger from the cruise ship MV Hondius has tested “presumptive positive” for Andes hantavirus, prompting health officials to intensify monitoring while stressing that the broader public risk remains low.

Canadian public health authorities said the patient was among four Canadians identified as high risk after travelling on the vessel, which departed Argentina on 1 April for an Atlantic crossing before the outbreak of the rare rodent-borne disease came to light.

In a statement, the Public Health Agency of Canada said officials in British Columbia had “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 is the only form of hantavirus known to spread from person to person.

Officials said the patient and their spouse, who experienced minor symptoms, were taken to hospital on Friday and will remain in isolation.

“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.

Confirmatory test results were expected within 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.

There are no vaccines or specific treatments for hantavirus, though health officials have rejected comparisons between the outbreak and the Covid-19 pandemic.