Canadian passenger on cruise ship tests positive for hantavirus

WASHINGTON, May 16. /TASS/. One of the Canadians who travelled on board the MV Hondius cruise ship has tested positive for hantavirus, British Columbia health officer Bonnie Henry said.

"The BC CDC public health lab reported that the test on the individual who had these mild symptoms was positive for the Andy strain of hantavirus. The patient is stable, the symptoms remain mild at this point," Henry said.

She noted that additional studies are planned to confirm the test results.

Henry said that the four Canadians who were previously passengers of the MV Hondius are being held in isolation in British Columbia. She said she now sees no threat of further spread of hantavirus in Canada.

Canada's chief public health officer Joss Reimer said earlier this week that 26 Canadians are under medical supervision for possible symptoms of hantavirus infection. According to media reports, nine of them, including those who had previously been on board the MV Hondius, were isolated because they were in a high-risk area.

On the evening of May 11, MV Hondius left the port of Tenerife in the Canary Islands for the Netherlands. On May 12, the World Health Organization reported 11 cases of hantavirus infection on board, but the estimate was later lowered to 10 cases. Three people died, and one patient is in a Johannesburg hospital. To prevent further spread of the infection, passengers were ordered to stay in their cabins, but the incubation period of hantavirus can be several weeks, making it difficult to quickly identify new cases.

In April, the Dutch-flagged liner left Argentina and headed for the final destination of the cruise - the Canary Islands. There were about 150 people on board, mostly citizens of Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands and the US.