Hantavirus outbreak: Australians to return to NSW, QLD via Perth, waiting on MV Hondius for charter flight

With stops planned for Perth, NSW and Queensland, four Australians still held on a mouse virus-ridden cruise ship will soon return to Australia’s borders, but a comprehensive plan is far from complete.

Four Australians were among the 147 people aboard the MV Hondius, which became the center of a worrying hantavirus outbreak.

Since they boarded the ship, three people have died from the virus that has infected the ship, while five confirmed cases have been recorded, some of whom have already left.

As the situation worsened, the ship was put to sea until plans were made for a port that would accept the virus-ridden ship and help those locked aboard.

Eventually, one by one, those on board the ship, anchored off the Spanish island of Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, were released as countries around the world launched a tightly controlled repatriation operation.

However, the four Australians on board had to remain on MV Hondius because the plane to take them back had not yet arrived in Tenerife.

Others were ferried off the ship, forced to leave their luggage behind, and then taken by bus under police guard directly to their flights.

Although those allowed to disembark were cleared by doctors before departure, concerns remain that the virus could develop over a six-week period.

What happens when the Australians take out the MV Hondius?

Australians on board will have to wait until Monday morning (local time) before disembarking if cleared by doctors.

Authorities on the Spanish island have been strict about removing people from the ship. Passengers are not allowed to disembark from the rat disease-infested MV Hondius unless the repatriation flight is at the airport and ready to fly.

When the Australians are finally allowed to leave the ship after an extra night on board, their repatriation flights will fly from Tenerife to Perth.

From there the details get a little fuzzy. It is understood Australians may be quarantined or isolated for 45 days.

The Australians being repatriated are not from Western Australia. They appear to be from New South Wales and Queensland.

The plan is understood to be for passengers to be handed over to their state for local health authorities to manage the response, but no plans have yet been announced by NSW Health or Queensland Health.

No plans to remain in quarantine in Western Australia have also been announced.

Health authorities around the world currently have different plans for travelers returning home.

In France, passengers were placed in 72-hour hospital quarantine before 45-day home isolation. But those plans were already thrown into chaos when a passenger on the ship started showing symptoms on the repatriation flight.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers arriving from the MV Hondius starting Sunday.

NSW Health and Queensland Health did not immediately respond when reached by The Nightly on Monday morning.

DFAT has also been contacted for an update.

Labor says regulations ‘still being finalized’

Environment Minister Murray Watt said quarantine arrangements for the arrival of travelers were still being finalised.

“It’s a terrible situation that these people went on a cruise hoping to have a nice holiday and found themselves in this situation,” Senator Watt told ABC TV.

“We have agreed to repatriate a small number of Australians…arrangements are being made with the states and territories to quarantine those individuals.”

Australian state health departments can turn to the WHO for guidance on how to manage the four Australians.

They recommend that returning travelers who are quarantined undergo daily health checks at a designated private facility or at home.

But WHO says countries are responsible for their own policies.

It is unclear how strict quarantine or isolation measures will be with the Centers for Disease Control in the US.

The Australian Center for Disease Control attempted to calm growing public concern last week.

“Hantavirus is not new. It is a group of viruses found in different parts of the world and mostly associated with rodents,” the group said in a statement.

“Although hantavirus infection is serious, it is very unlikely to cause a widespread outbreak.

“Human infection is rare and typically occurs through inhalation of dust or air particles contaminated with the feces, urine, or nesting materials of infected rodents. It may also occur through direct contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of an infected rodent.

“Andes virus is a type of hantavirus that affects people on cruise ships. Although very rare, Andes virus can spread from an infected person with symptoms through close, prolonged contact, such as between people living together.

“There is no evidence of transmission from asymptomatic people.”

The virus, which is usually spread by rodents but can also be transmitted from person to person in rare cases of close contact, was first detected by health officials treating a British man who fell ill and was admitted to intensive care in Johannesburg on May 2, 21 days after the death of another traveler.

The man’s health has since improved, a WHO official said Sunday.

The WHO said the first passenger to die on the ship may have been infected before boarding, possibly during her trip to Argentina and Chile.

Eight people no longer on the ship fell ill, six of whom were confirmed to have the virus, according to a WHO count on Friday.

Three people died: a Dutch couple and a German citizen.

Four people remain hospitalized in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

-AAP via Reuters