2 Albertans may have come into contact with hantavirus on flight

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Joss Reimer says there is no evidence to support claims that asymptomatic people with hantavirus are spreading the illness.

Canada’s chief public health officer says three more Canadians — two from Alberta and one from Ontario — may have had contact on a flight with someone infected with hantavirus.

Dr. Joss Reimer says these travellers were not on the Dutch-owned cruise ship that has reported an outbreak including eight cases of the rodent-borne virus, three of them fatal.

Reimer says the three individuals are asymptomatic and have been told to isolate until the risk of infection has passed.

They are in addition to six Canadian passengers of the MV Hondius cruise ship. Two of those passengers returned to Canada last week before the outbreak was detected by the World Health Organization on May 2.

Those two, a couple from Ontario, along with a third Canadian from Quebec, were on a flight to Johannesburg and may have come into contact with a person showing hantavirus symptoms.

Public health officials say they are asymptomatic and self-isolating.

Four Canadians are still on board the ship carrying more than 140 asymptomatic passengers and crew. The ship is expected to dock on a Spanish island off the coast of Africa on Sunday.

By Dylan Robertson, Allison Jones and Hannah Alberga

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2026.