Canada’s Public Health Agency confirmed that a Yukon resident in their 70s tested positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus after returning from the MV Hondius, a polar expedition cruise ship at the centre of an outbreak that has sickened at least 10 passengers and killed three people worldwide.
The individual, a Yukon resident in their 70s, is hospitalized in Victoria. Their travelling partner tested negative. Two other Canadians who returned from the MV Hondius are isolating in British Columbia and remain asymptomatic.
The confirmation followed a Saturday announcement by BC chief public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry that one of four returning Canadian passengers had received a “presumptive positive” result. Samples went to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, which confirmed the result on Saturday. PHAC issued its public statement on Sunday.
Twelve cases have now been confirmed aboard or linked to the MV Hondius — the largest recorded cluster of Andes hantavirus tied to a single source. Three passengers have died, among them a Dutch couple believed to have been the first exposed, likely during a shore visit in South America before boarding. The ship has since anchored off Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where evacuation operations are underway. It is expected to arrive at the Port of Rotterdam next Monday, with most crew members set to undergo a six-week quarantine in the Netherlands.
The Andes strain — ANDV — is the only known hantavirus capable of limited person-to-person transmission. All other strains spread exclusively through contact with infected rodent excreta. ANDV transmission requires prolonged, close contact, making a broader outbreak extremely unlikely. “Hantavirus is very different to respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and is not considered to have pandemic potential,” Henry said.
Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory has confirmed 168 hantavirus cases in Canada since active surveillance began in 1994 — an average of four to five per year, virtually all linked to Sin Nombre hantavirus through infected deer mouse excreta in rural western Canada. The Andes strain is distinct and is not circulating domestically.
Related: Hantavirus: What we know so far
The Public Health Agency said the overall risk to Canadians remains low. “We want to thank public health authorities and frontline staff in British Columbia for the dedicated care that they are providing,” said Dr. Joss Reimer, Canada’s chief public health officer.
Beyond the four passengers who returned directly to BC, PHAC asked 26 additional Canadians considered low risk to monitor for symptoms and nine to isolate. Ontario is separately testing 10 asymptomatic individuals with connections to the vessel.
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