A Canadian couple in their 70s from the Yukon are among four residents who returned home from the stricken cruise ship MV Hondius on May 10. One member of the couple received a presumptive positive hantavirus test result after developing a fever and headache, British Columbia health officials disclosed Saturday. The patient was admitted to a hospital in Victoria and is in stable condition with mild symptoms, while the partner — who experienced what health authorities described as “very minor symptoms” — tested negative.
The presumptive result is the first for a Canadian returnee from the vessel. Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, said the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg is expected to deliver confirmation results over the weekend. “Clearly this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for,” Henry told reporters.
The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has now reached 12 cases, with nine confirmed infections and three fatalities. The dead include a Dutch couple believed to be the first exposed during visits to South America, where hantavirus is endemic in rodent populations.
The two other Canadians — a person in their 70s from Vancouver Island and a British Columbian in their 50s who lives abroad — have remained in isolation since their return. Henry said infection control precautions were in place from the moment the four arrived in the province.
“I want to reassure everybody in British Columbia that for most of us the situation has not changed,” Henry said, adding that there is “no additional risk” to the public. “I’m confident there’s no additional risk. We are well prepared to respond carefully and appropriately to keep everyone safe.”
Hantavirus, she noted, is distinct from COVID-19 and is not considered to have pandemic potential. The virus is transmitted primarily through contact with infected rodent droppings, urine or saliva and does not spread easily between humans.