Hantavirus outbreak: One of the four Canadians isolating after cruise ship journey tests positive

Canada on Saturday confirmed that one of the four Canadians who were quarantining in British Columbia had tested positive with the deadly Hantavirus after being on board the cruise ship where the outbreak occurred.

While addressing the matter at a news conference, Dr Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, said the individual developed mild symptoms, including fever and headache, two days ago, and that the infected person and their partner, who had also been on board the cruise ship where they had been isolating together, were transferred to a hospital in Victoria for assessment and testing.

Henry noted that the test result of the individual came back positive on late Friday evening. She maintained that the results were currently being viewed as "presumptive positive," and the samples had been sent to the national microbiology lab in Winnipeg for confirmatory testing.

Results for those tests are expected to be confirmed over the course of the weekend, Henry told local reporters, according to The Guardian. “Clearly, this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for,” Henry said. “The patient is stable, and their symptoms remain mild at this point,” Henry said. “And they are still in the hospital, in isolation, being monitored and receiving care as needed.”

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Partner tested negative

Meanwhile, Henry told the media that while the patient’s partner tested negative, he will also remain in the hospital for further monitoring and assessment.

Apart from this, Henry maintained that, as “an abundance of caution”, the third individual who had been isolating in the same lodging was also transferred to the hospital for monitoring. Meanwhile, the fourth person continues to isolate at home under daily observation, she said.

It is pertinent to note that the four Canadians in question had been on board the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, where the Hantavirus outbreak occurred. The passengers arrived in Victoria on May 10. Henry stated that upon arrival, all four of them were assessed, and none of them exhibited any symptoms at that time.

They were then transferred directly to lodgings to begin a period of quarantine for a minimum of 21 days. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended a 42-day quarantine period. Since April 11, three people who were on board the cruise ship have died of suspected hantavirus infection, including a Dutch couple and a German woman.