Six passengers who were aboard a luxury cruise vessel during a fatal hantavirus outbreak have returned to Australia and begun mandatory isolation that will last a minimum of three weeks.
The group, consisting of four Australian citizens, one permanent resident, and one New Zealand resident, touched down Friday at a military airfield near Perth in Western Australia aboard a government-arranged aircraft, according to local news outlets.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed that every member of the returning group had received negative test results and showed no signs of illness before departing from the Netherlands.
“They will be transported immediately to the quarantine facility that’s effectively next door, and they will be tested again,” Butler told Sky News.
The World Health Organization reports that 11 passengers aboard the MV Hondius became infected with the virus, resulting in three fatalities.
Health officials from the WHO have advised a 42-day isolation period for all cruise passengers, while medical experts are encouraging public calm by emphasizing that this virus spreads much less easily than COVID-19 and presents minimal danger to the general population.
Rodents serve as the main carriers of hantavirus, though human-to-human transmission can occur in uncommon instances. The illness typically manifests with symptoms resembling the flu, including exhaustion and elevated body temperature, appearing one to eight weeks following contact, the WHO states.
