Canada’s health authorities have identified a hantavirus case in a Canadian individual isolating in British Columbia after departing from a cruise ship affected by a severe outbreak. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) disclosed that testing at the National Microbiology Laboratory confirmed the positive result for one passenger from Yukon, while their travel companion tested negative after samples were analyzed.
The case was initially disclosed by Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer of British Columbia, who reported a “presumptive positive” outcome on Saturday. The infected passenger, part of a Yukon couple isolating on Vancouver Island, was admitted to a hospital with mild symptoms, including fever and headache.
PHAC stated that no additional cases had been identified at present, with all high-risk contacts under isolation and close monitoring by local health authorities. The overall risk to the general population in Canada from the hantavirus linked to the cruise ship remains low.
Dr. Joss Reimer, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, commended the efforts of public health officials and frontline workers in British Columbia for their dedicated care and management of the situation. Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alberta, emphasized that the risk to the public remains low despite the confirmed case, as the individual tested positive during the incubation phase.
Four individuals who were on the same ship and subsequently isolated on Vancouver Island are being closely monitored. Three of them are receiving care in hospitals, while the fourth person continues to isolate at home. The passengers, including a couple in their 70s from Yukon, a Vancouver Island resident in their 70s, and a British Columbian in their 50s residing abroad, were securely transferred from the ship and appropriately managed upon arrival.
To date, a total of 12 hantavirus cases worldwide have been associated with the cruise ship, with the Canadian case being one of them. Public health officials have advised individuals considered at high risk to isolate and undergo monitoring. Furthermore, low-risk individuals across the country have been urged to watch for symptoms associated with the virus.