Health authorities in Canada have announced that one of the four Canadians placed in quarantine in British Columbia following exposure to the hantavirus on a cruise ship has returned a presumptive positive test result. Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, stated that the individual began showing mild symptoms, such as fever and headache, two days prior and was subsequently hospitalized in Victoria along with their partner for evaluation and testing.
Late Friday, the preliminary test results confirmed the individual’s presumptive positive status for the hantavirus, with samples sent to the national microbiology lab in Winnipeg for further confirmation, expected over the weekend. Despite the positive result, Dr. Henry reassured that the patient is stable with mild symptoms and is receiving appropriate care in isolation at the hospital. Meanwhile, the patient’s partner has tested negative but remains under observation in the hospital as a precaution.
In addition to the couple, a third person who had been isolating in the same location has also been taken to the hospital as a preventive measure, while the fourth individual continues to quarantine at home under daily observation. All four individuals arrived in Victoria on May 10 after having been aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, where the hantavirus outbreak occurred. They initially showed no symptoms upon arrival and began a mandatory 21-day quarantine period immediately.
In related developments, France’s Pasteur Institute has completed genomic sequencing of the Andes virus found in a French passenger from the MV Hondius, concluding it matches known South American strains. The analysis showed no new traits that would increase the virus’s transmissibility or danger. The virus detected in the French passenger was found to be 97% similar to other Andes virus samples in South America and identical to those found in other passengers on the ship. Pasteur’s findings suggest the variations are due to natural viral variation and do not alter the virus’s characteristics.
The hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius has already resulted in the suspected deaths of three passengers since April 11, including a Dutch couple and a German woman.