Health authorities in Canada have verified on Sunday that one passenger among four Canadians who came back from a cruise vessel experiencing a hantavirus outbreak has been confirmed to carry the virus.
The Public Health Agency of Canada validated the positive result one day following an announcement by British Columbia’s provincial public health officer that the individual had received a “presumptive positive” result, with additional testing scheduled at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg.
“One individual’s sample was confirmed positive for hantavirus,” the national agency said in a statement.
According to the statement, a second person who traveled with the confirmed case has tested negative for the virus. Both individuals, described as a couple in their 70s from the Yukon, are currently receiving care at a hospital in Victoria.
The group of four Canadian passengers arrived back in British Columbia the previous Sunday. In addition to the couple, the group included someone in their 70s from Vancouver Island and a person in their 50s from British Columbia who resides overseas.
All four individuals remain in isolation.
The outbreak aboard the cruise vessel MV Hondius has resulted in three fatalities. The Canadian case represents the tenth person from the ship to receive a positive test result.
Health authorities believe a Dutch couple, who are among the three deceased, were initially exposed to the virus during a visit to South America.
Officials with Canada’s public health agency stated they are implementing precautionary measures to safeguard citizens.
“The overall risk to the general population in Canada from the Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship remains low at this time,” the statement said. “All confirmed cases to date have been passengers or crew on the MV Hondius cruise ship.”
The agency reported that it has shared details about the positive case with the World Health Organization and will continue providing information to assist the ongoing worldwide investigation into the outbreak.
