Canadian cruise passenger tests positive for hantavirus after ship outbreak

A Canadian who sailed on the cruise ship MV Hondius has tested positive for hantavirus, health officials in British Columbia said.

The person is one of four Canadians isolating on Vancouver Island after leaving the ship. The individual developed mild symptoms.

British Columbia's senior health officer said the four had not had any contact with the public since arriving in Canada.

The new case brings the total number of infections to 11, all among cruise passengers. Three people who traveled on the ship have died, with two confirmed to have had the virus.

British Columbia health officer Bonnie Henry said the person's test came back as a presumptive positive on Friday. The result still needs confirmation by a national microbiology lab.

"Clearly, this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for," she said.

"I want to emphasise that hantavirus is a very different virus than the other respiratory viruses that we've been dealing with - like Covid, like influenza, like measles - and it remains one that we do not consider to have pandemic potential," Dr Henry added.

Of the six Canadians who were on the Dutch ship, two are self-isolating at their home in Ontario. Two more couples are isolating on Vancouver Island, one from British Columbia and the other from Yukon. The person who tested positive is from Yukon.

The cruise ship set sail from Argentina on April 1 and docked in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands less than a week ago. Its 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries left the ship and went into isolation.

The WHO has recommended 42 days of isolation for each person. The Canadians were initially required to isolate for 21 days, but Dr Henry said that timeline could now be adjusted.