Two Ontario residents who were onboard a ship with an outbreak of hantavirus are from the same household in Grey-Bruce counties and are isolating at home now, Ontario’s top doctor tells CTV News.
Dr. Kieran Moore told CTV News Toronto in an interview the two arrived back in Ontario on April 25 and are being observed for a 45-day period. However they remain asymptomatic.
“It’s just the two that we’re monitoring on a daily basis to ensure they remain asymptomatic,” Moore said. “They’re not cases, they’re contacts from the ship, and I just want to assure everybody they have no symptoms at present.”
Ontario is not expecting any more patients from the ship, Moore said.
Moore said he believes it’s unlikely the two might have passed hantavirus to anyone since their return as there is still no indication they have it themselves.
“Thankfully, they remain asymptomatic and this is many days out from their travel and return to Ontario, so we have good assurance that they had not inadvertently spread any risk to the general public, and we remain in daily contact with them if they do develop symptoms,” he said.
If the two do develop symptoms, Moore said, there is a plan in place to care for them.
So far there have been eight cases confirmed, including three deaths, in connection with the outbreak aboard the the MV Hondius, a cruise ship that departed Argentina April 1 before making several stops around isolated islands in the South Atlantic.
Hantavirus is a potentially deadly virus which is usually spread through contact with the urine, faeces, or saliva of infected rodents, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the WHO, person-to-person infection is rare, but has been recorded in some previous outbreaks.
hantavirus
More details to come…
With files from Siobhan Morris and AP