A Spanish citizen under quarantine at a military hospital in Madrid, who was evacuated from a cruise ship earlier this month, has been diagnosed with hantavirus, according to Spain’s Health Ministry. This marks the second positive case among the 14 Spanish evacuees who were brought to the Spanish island of Tenerife from the luxury liner MV Hondius. The ship, carrying around 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries, including four Canadians, reported a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses to the World Health Organization on May 2.
Following the confirmation of the infection, the Spanish individual was transferred to an isolation unit at Gómez Ulla Hospital, as stated by the Health Ministry. The Ministry emphasized that the detection of the case among those already in quarantine does not change the risk level for the general population. Symptoms of hantavirus infection can manifest anywhere from one to eight weeks after exposure, with most cases appearing within four to six weeks.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed a positive hantavirus case in one of the Canadian individuals who had been isolating in British Columbia after leaving the ship. PHAC also reported that a second person who traveled with the confirmed case tested negative for the virus. In total, 36 Canadians have been affected by this outbreak, including those evacuated from the cruise ship and others who were on board but disembarked at an earlier stop.
Additionally, 26 Canadians who were deemed low risk due to being on the same flights as a confirmed hantavirus case were advised to monitor for symptoms. No symptoms have been observed among these individuals. The Andes hantavirus outbreak, primarily transmitted by rodents but with rare cases of human-to-human transmission, was first reported on the cruise ship in early May. Twelve people, including the Spanish national identified recently, have been infected, with three fatalities reported – a Dutch couple and a German national.