Countries track passengers of hantavirus-hit cruise ship

[AMSTERDAM/GENEVA] Countries worldwide sought to prevent further spread of the hantavirus on Thursday (May 7), after an outbreak on a cruise ship, by tracking those who had disembarked before the virus was detected and anyone in close contact with them since.

Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius.

In total, five people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another three suspected cases, the World Health Organization said. Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.

All passengers who disembarked in St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the ship made a stop on Apr 24, have been contacted, the ship’s operator said. This included people from at least 12 countries, among them seven British citizens and six from the US. The first confirmed case of hantavirus in this outbreak came in early May.

‘This is not Covid’

The WHO repeated that the risk to the general public was low even if the Andean strain of the virus, found in several victims, can in rare cases be transmitted among humans.

“This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic management, told a press conference. “This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”

The WHO said it was working on step-by-step guidance for when the dozens of passengers remaining on the ship, which is sailing to the Canary Islands, arrives there on Saturday or Sunday (May 16 or 17) and the passengers disembark and travel home. None of these passengers currently have any symptoms.

Contact tracing, monitoring

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was closely monitoring the situation, adding that the risk to the American public was extremely low at the time.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday he had been briefed on the hantavirus and expressed hope that it was under control.

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“It’s very much, we hope, under control,” Trump said.

Asked whether Americans should be concerned about any spread of the virus, Trump replied: “I hope not.” He also said, without elaborating, that a report on the virus was expected on Friday.

The Georgia Department of Public Health said it ​was monitoring two asymptomatic residents ​who had returned ⁠home after disembarking from the cruise ship.

​The Arizona ⁠Department of Health Services said it was monitoring one resident, who was also on the ship, and ⁠was not ​symptomatic. According to the New York Times, California was monitoring a number of residents who had been on the ship.

And in Texas, officials said that two residents who were passengers on the ship returned to the US before the outbreak was identified.

One French citizen has been in contact with a person who had fallen ill but was not showing symptoms, officials said.

Contact tracing

Oceanwide Expeditions said it was now working to establish details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked on various stops since Mar 20.

The Dutch couple who died, and who are believed to be the first hantavirus cases of this outbreak, boarded on Apr 1.

Dutch airline KLM said it had taken the Dutch woman off a plane in Johannesburg on Apr 25 due to her deteriorating medical condition. She died before she could reach the Netherlands.

According to broadcaster RTL, a KLM stewardess who had been in contact with her has been admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam after showing possible hantavirus symptoms.

Crew and passengers who helped the Dutch woman who passed away are being called daily for health checks, Dutch authorities told public broadcaster NOS.

Evacuation, tests

Three patients were evacuated from the ship on Wednesday. Two have been admitted to a hospital in the Netherlands, while another was transferred to Germany for medical care.

Martin Anstee, an expedition guide, was one of the two evacuees in hospital in the Netherlands, according to Sky News, and told them he was “doing okay” but “there are still lots of tests to be done”.

The Duesseldorf University Clinic, treating the German evacuee, said she was not a confirmed case but rather a contact and was undergoing tests.

In Switzerland, a man who travelled on the cruise ship and was admitted to a hospital tested positive for the infection, officials said.

A Danish citizen who was aboard the Hondius has returned home and has been advised to self-isolate as a precaution, Danish health authorities said.

In Canada, officials said that two Canadians on the cruise returned home before the outbreak was identified and another Canadian was on the same flight as a symptomatic person. All three are currently asymptomatic. REUTERS