Canada confirms hantavirus case linked to cruise ship that killed 3
Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship raises concern as passengers return to US
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses the Hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, where three deaths occurred. Siegel explains that human-to-human spread is rare but not impossible. This episode highlights the return of travelers to the U.S. from places like Tenerife and Praia, raising new public health concerns and highlighting the need for containment.
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Canadian health officials confirmed Sunday that one in four Canadians who returned from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was the subject of an international Andean hantavirus outbreak, tested positive for hantavirus. 3 people died in connection with the epidemic.
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the positive test after British Columbia’s top public health official previously described the case as a “presumptive positive.”
“One person’s sample was confirmed positive for hantavirus,” the agency said in a statement. he said.
Additional testing will be done at a national laboratory, officials said. It was not immediately clear whether this testing was for confirmation, strain characterization or some other purpose.
CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER DESCRIBES UNCERTAINTY AFTER 3 DEATHS ABOUT HANTAVIRUS PROBLEM
Cruise outbreaks are getting more attention because of public reporting rules, but many passengers still plan to sail as booked, experts say. (Myloupe/Universal Images Group)
The development comes as global health officials continue to monitor an outbreak of the rare hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius that sickened multiple passengers.
As of May 13, the World Health Organization said 11 cases had been identified in connection with the cruise ship outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case. These figures include three deaths. The Associated Press later reported that the Canadian confirmation brought the number of people on the ship who tested positive to 10.
Four Canadians returned home from the MV Hondius, but only one tested positive for the virus, Canadian health officials said.
RARE HANTAVIRUS IS SUSPICIOUS FROM HUMAN TO HUMAN TRANSMISSION ON THE LUXURY CRUISE SHIP WHERE 3 PEOPLE DIE.
The rare Andes virus linked to the outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius is the only type of hantavirus known to be capable of spreading from person to person, usually through prolonged close contact. (Andres Gutierrez/Anatolia)
The confirmed patient and a traveling companion, identified as a Yukon couple in their 70s, returned from the trip together. His friend later tested negative, officials said.
A third person from Vancouver Island, in his 70s, and a British Columbia resident in his 50s remain in isolation.
No confirmed U.S. cases linked to the cruise ship have been reported so far, but WHO said as of May 13, laboratory results from a passenger returned to the U.S. were inconclusive and was being retested.
HANTAVIRUS DEATHS ON A CRUISE SHIP HIGHLIGHTS THE DANGERS OF CRIMINE-BORNE DISEASES
Pictured is the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was linked to a hantavirus outbreak in Argentina after a stoppage that resulted in the deaths of three passengers. (Europa Press Canarias via Getty Images)
But last week, health officials in New York’s Ontario County announced they were investigating a suspected case of locally acquired hantavirus unrelated to the cruise ship.
The Ontario County Department of Public Health said there is no risk to the general public. Officials also said it is unknown whether the strain typically seen in the United States spreads from person to person.
The outbreak linked to the MV Hondius began after the Dutch cruise ship, carrying 147 passengers and crew, left Argentina on April 1 for a South Atlantic cruise.
TRAPED PASSENGER SHIP UPDATE SHARES ABOUT SHIP CLEANING DURING THE DEADLY HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK
The outbreak has led to stepped-up measures internationally, including in the Netherlands, where Radboud University Medical Center quarantined 12 staff after officials said the blood and urine of a hantavirus patient were not handled under the strictest protocols recommended for the virus strain.
The outbreak has also drawn comparisons to the coronavirus pandemic. But Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Fox News Digital that “there’s no comparison.”
He noted that hantavirus is difficult to spread.
Passengers evacuated from the Hondius cruise ship, which contracted hantavirus, walk with their belongings after disembarking from Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands, on May 12. (Piroschka van de Wouw)
“It’s not an airborne thing in terms of respiratory droplets suspended in the air,” he said. “It’s very difficult to convey.”
He added that coronavirus has “moved significantly towards humans” but hantavirus has not, except for “very rare” cases of human-to-human transmission.
While the World Health Organization assessed the risk to the global population as low, it later stated that available evidence suggested that human-to-human transmission may have occurred aboard the ship. Andes virus is the only hantavirus documented to be transmitted from person to person, but such spread is thought to be rare.
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Siegel also noted that cases of hantavirus have been reported in the United States for decades, but they are “very rare.”
Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller and Angelica Stabile and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
