Health officials say the four Canadians isolating in British Columbia after disembarking a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak are not showing any symptoms of the virus.
As of Monday, there have been at least nine reported cases around the world of hantavirus in connection with the outbreak on the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, including three deaths.
Provincial health official Dr. Bonnie Henry said four passengers arrived at Victoria International Airport on Sunday and are all isolating in the Island Health region. She said each person was screened under controlled conditions upon arrival by public health teams wearing personal protective equipment.
“All four continue to be well and have no symptoms,” said Henry in a press conference on Monday.
Henry said they are being asked to isolate for at least 21 days, which she said is the highest-risk period for the virus, but they will be monitored for the full 42-day incubation period.
One person in their 70s is isolating at their own home in the area, while the others are staying at pre-arranged lodgings, she said.
They include a couple in their 70s from Yukon who are expected to stay in B.C. during the monitoring period. Henry said there were concerns that Yukon did not have the capacity or facilities to treat them if they developed severe symptoms.
The other individual is a person in their 50s who is from B.C. but now lives abroad.
Henry acknowledged that this outbreak, for many, will bring back memories of the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus also spread on cruise ships as the pandemic ramped up in early 2020.
Henry said hantavirus can cause serious illness, but it doesn’t spread the same way the coronavirus does, or other highly transmissible diseases like influenza and measles.
She said while hantavirus is rare, there have been previous cases of it in B.C., and the province has the capacity to test for it and treat it.
Henry said it is not considered a disease with pandemic potential.
“We don’t expect to see transmission, now that people are safely in isolation and being monitored, to people outside of those who were exposed on that cruise ship,” she said.
However, Henry said the seriousness of the disease is worrying and that’s why public health officials are being cautious.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has said six Canadians were among the 147 people on the MV Hondius when it left Argentina on April 1. Argentina has seen a surge of hantavirus cases and deaths over the past year.
PHAC said two of the Canadian cruise ship passengers and another Canadian who may have been exposed on a flight returned to Ontario and Quebec in late April and have since been told to self-isolate.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an outbreak on board the ship in early May, and passengers were required to follow strict isolation protocols.
The ship docked early Sunday in Tenerife, Spain, and the four remaining Canadian passengers were assessed and flown back to Canada on chartered flights.
PHAC said none of the Canadians have shown symptoms, and the risk to the public is low.
The WHO says humans typically pick up hantavirus through contact with the urine, feces or saliva of infected rodents.
However, the Andes strain of the virus detected on the MV Hondius, endemic to South America, can spread from person to person when there is close, prolonged contact, such as on a cruise ship.
Symptoms can begin one to eight weeks after exposure and typically include fever, headache, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting. In severe cases, the virus can cause serious respiratory illness and can be fatal.
