A hantavirus outbreak onboard a cruise ship half a world away has found its way to midwestern Ontario. “Here in the Grey-Bruce region, we have two individuals who were passengers on that cruise ship, and were potentially exposed to hantavirus,” said Dr. Brittany Graham, acting medical officer of health for the Grey-Bruce Health Unit. The duo, who disembarked from the infected cruise ship in mid-April, returned to Grey-Bruce on April 25, and have been self-isolating ever since. Grey-Bruce Health Unit officials are checking in on them daily. “They are well, they’re not experiencing any symptoms of the illness, and so we are checking in with them while they isolate at home, to confirm that they’re not developing any signs or symptoms of Hantavirus,” added Dr. Graham. Three passengers aboard the MV Hondius have died from hantavirus since the cruise ship left Argentina on April 1. Eight more have contracted the virus that is usually spread from animals to humans but can be contracted person-to-person. “This is many days out from their travel and return to Ontario. So, we have good assurance that they have not inadvertently spread any risk to the general public,” said Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore. Health officials aren’t revealing where in Grey-Bruce the duo is isolating, but they say it doesn’t really matter. As long as they stay in isolation and remain asymptomatic, the chance of hantavirus making its way to the region is almost zero. “We’ve confirmed that they’re well, they don’t have the disease, and we’re following up with them closely. Their risk to the community is very, very low,” said Graham. The duo will be monitored for 45 days, the potential incubation period for hantavirus, adds Graham. “We’re not expecting any other patients coming to Ontario. It’s just the two that we’re monitoring on a daily basis to ensure they remain asymptomatic. So, they’re not cases, they’re contacts from the ship,” said Moore. “Here at public health, this is something that we do routinely, where we follow up with individuals who have potentially been exposed to infectious diseases, and prevent any potential spread within the community. So, that’s something that we’re very confident we are able to do, so we have the situation well in hand here,” added Graham.
