Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship raises concerns as passengers return to US
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses the Hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius, where three people died. Siegel explains that while human-to-human transmission is rare, it is not impossible. The segment highlights the return of passengers to the US from places like Tenerife and Praia, raising new public health concerns and emphasizing the need for containment.
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Canadian health officials on Sunday confirmed that one of four Canadians returning from the MV Hondius, the subject of an international outbreak of Andes hantavirus, has tested positive for hantavirus. Three people linked to the disease have died.
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the test after British Columbia’s top public health official described the case as “prejudicial.”
“A sample from one person has been confirmed positive for hantavirus,” the statement said.
Officials said further tests will be done at the national laboratory. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the tests were for verification, to isolate the actors or for some other purpose.
CRUISE SHIP CAPTAIN EXPLAINING UNCERTAINTY AFTER 3 DEATHS IN HANTAVIRUS PROBE
Experts say cruise ship outbreaks are getting more attention because of public reporting laws, but many travelers still plan to go on cruises as they are booked. (Myloupe Team/Universal Images)
The development comes as health officials around the world continue to monitor a rare hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius, which has sickened several passengers.
As of May 13, the World Health Organization said 11 cases have been identified in connection with the outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two possible cases and one incomplete case. Those figures include three deaths. The Associated Press later reported that Canada’s confirmation brought the number of people on board who tested positive for HIV to 10.
Canadian health officials said four Canadians returned home from the MV Hondius, although only one tested positive for the virus.
HANTAVIRUS SUSPECTED PERSON-TO-PERSON PLAY SUSPECTED ON TECHNOLOGY SHIP WHEN 3 DIE
The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius shipwreck, is the only known hantavirus that has the ability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged contact. (Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu)
The confirmed patient and his companion — identified as a Yukon couple in their 70s — returned from the trip together. His partner was later found to be uninfected, officials said.
A third person in their 70s from Vancouver Island lives alone, along with a British Columbia resident in their 50s.
So far, no confirmed US cases have been reported on the cruise ship, although the WHO said as of May 13 that one passenger returned to the US had inconclusive laboratory results and was being tested again.
HANTAVIRUS DEATHS IN FERTILIZER VESSEL SHOW RISK OF STICK-BORNE DISEASE
Pictured is the MV Hondius, a cruise ship embroiled in a hantavirus outbreak after docking in Argentina that left three passengers dead. (Europa Press Canarias via Getty Images)
Last week, however, health officials in Ontario County, New York, announced they were investigating a case of hantavirus that was allegedly found in an area unrelated to the ship.
The Ontario County Public Health Department said there is no risk to the general public. Officials also said the strain commonly seen in the United States is not known to spread from person to person.
The outbreak linked to the MV Hondius began after the Dutch vessel, carrying 147 passengers and crew, left Argentina on April 1 on a South Atlantic voyage.
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The outbreak has raised security measures around the world, including in the Netherlands, where the Radboud University Medical Center housed 12 workers after officials said the blood and urine of a hantavirus patient were not handled under the strict rules recommended for the virus.
The outbreak has also drawn comparisons to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Fox News Digital that “there is no comparison.”
He pointed out that hantavirus is difficult to spread.
Passengers disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken Hondius with their cargo after disembarking at Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands, on May 12. (Piroschka van de Wouw)
“It’s not airborne … it’s about respiratory droplets hanging in the air,” he said. “It’s very difficult to convey.”
While the coronavirus “travels in a significant way in humans,” the hantavirus has not, except in “rare” cases of human-to-human transmission, he added.
The World Health Organization has assessed the risk to the world’s population as low, while noting that current evidence suggests that human-to-human transmission may occur on board. Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to have human-to-human transmission, although such spread is considered rare.
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Siegel also noted that hantavirus cases have been reported in the United States for decades, although they remain “extremely rare.”
Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller and Angelica Stabile, and The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
