Canada confirms first hantavirus case in isolation in British Columbia | Hantavirus
One in four Canadians currently quarantined in British Columbia after being exposed to hantavirus on the cruise ship where the outbreak occurred has likely tested positive, Canadian officials said Saturday.
in conversation press conferenceBritish Columbia provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the person developed mild symptoms, including fever and headache, two days ago, and the person and his partner, who was on the cruise ship with whom they were quarantined, were transported to a hospital in Victoria for assessment and testing.
Henry said the individual who was experiencing mild symptoms late Friday evening tested positive, but emphasized that the results are currently “what we call presumptive positive” and that samples have been sent to the national microbiology laboratory in Winnipeg for confirmatory testing. Results from those tests are expected to be confirmed over the weekend, Henry said.
“Obviously it wasn’t what we were hoping for, but it was what we planned for,” Henry said.
“The patient is in stable condition and his symptoms remain mild at this point,” Henry said. “And they are still in the hospital, in isolation, being monitored and receiving care as needed.”
The patient’s partner tested negative but will remain hospitalized for further monitoring and evaluation, Henry said.
A third man, who had been kept in isolation at the same hostel, was also transported to hospital for observation, with what Henry described as “extreme caution”. He said the fourth person continues to isolate at home under daily observation.
Henry said that the four Canadians on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, where the hantavirus outbreak occurred, arrived in Victoria on May 10, adding that all four were evaluated upon arrival and none of them had any symptoms at that time.
They were transferred directly to hostels to begin a quarantine period of at least 21 days.
The World Health Organization recommended a 42-day quarantine period.
Since April 11, three people on the cruise ship have died from suspected hantavirus infections, including a Dutch couple and a German woman.
