Canadian Tests Positive for Hantavirus Post-Cruise Outbreak
A Canadian from Yukon tested positive for hantavirus following an Andes strain outbreak on a luxury cruise ship. The individual is in stable condition after being tested in British Columbia. The virus, typically spread by rodents, poses low risk of person-to-person transmission according to health authorities.
A Canadian citizen from Yukon has contracted hantavirus after an outbreak on the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius, British Columbia's government confirmed on Saturday.
Tested at a hospital in Victoria, the individual showed mild symptoms and is now among four Canadians isolated on Vancouver Island. The group includes two couples who disembarked from the polar expedition ship, which departed from Argentina on April 1.
B.C. provincial health officer Bonnie Henry assured that neither the infected individual nor their companions had contact with the public upon their arrival in Victoria. The Andes strain of hantavirus identified in the outbreak can be deadly in up to 50% of cases, although the World Health Organization assures the risk of its spread remains low.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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