Canada confirms hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak with three deaths
Canadian health officials announced Sunday that one of four Canadians who returned from the MV Hondius cruise ship tested positive for hantavirus. The ship is the center of an international outbreak linked to the Andes hantavirus, which has caused three deaths, according to authorities.
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the positive test after British Columbia’s top public health officer previously described the case as a “presumptive positive.” The agency said additional testing is underway at a national laboratory, though it was unclear whether the tests are for confirmation or strain identification.
The outbreak has garnered international attention. The World Health Organization reported 11 cases connected to the cruise as of May 13, including eight confirmed, two probable, and one inconclusive. The outbreak has resulted in three deaths, W.H.O. officials said. The Associated Press later reported that 10 people from the ship have tested positive, including the one confirmed case in Canada.
Among those affected are a Yukon couple in their 70s who traveled together on the cruise; the companion tested negative. A third person in their 70s from Vancouver Island remains in isolation, along with a resident in their 50s from British Columbia. No confirmed U.S. cases have been reported, though one U.S.-repatriated passenger has inconclusive results pending retesting.
Health officials in Ontario County, New York, are investigating a suspected locally acquired hantavirus case unrelated to the cruise. The Ontario County Public Health Department stated there is no risk to the general public. The strain typically seen in the U.S. is not known to spread through person-to-person contact.
The outbreak originated after the Dutch cruise ship, carrying 147 passengers and crew, departed Argentina for a South Atlantic voyage on April 1. The situation has prompted increased precautions internationally, including quarantine measures at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands after hantavirus samples were not handled under recommended protocols.
Experts note that hantavirus is not easily transmitted between humans. Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel explained that, unlike coronavirus, hantavirus is not airborne and is very difficult to spread. Current evidence suggests that human-to-human transmission is rare, with Andes virus being the only hantavirus known to have documented such spread.
The World Health Organization considers the global risk low but acknowledges that human-to-human transmission may have occurred aboard the cruise. The outbreak highlights the dangers of rodent-borne diseases, though officials emphasize that the overall threat remains limited.
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