{"id":630241,"date":"2026-05-08T04:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T04:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/630241\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T04:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T04:19:10","slug":"3-canadians-isolating-in-ontario-quebec-after-hantavirus-ship-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/630241\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Canadians isolating in Ontario, Quebec after hantavirus ship outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Three people with connections to a deadly hantavirus-stricken cruise are isolating at home in Ontario and Quebec, the federal government said Thursday as consular officials headed to the Canary Islands to meet four Canadians who remain on board.<\/p>\n

Two Canadian passengers disembarked on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena almost two weeks ago, according to Dutch-based Oceanwide Expeditions. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said they were on the same returning flight as a third Canadian who was not on the vessel.<\/p>\n

Quebec’s health minister said that third Canadian, from Quebec, is isolating because they possibly came into contact during an international trip with a person infected with hantavirus.<\/p>\n

However, a statement from the minister says they “were not in close proximity, and the risk of transmission is therefore extremely low.” <\/p>\n

In a statement posted online, Anand said all three Canadians are asymptomatic and have been self-isolating. <\/p>\n

WATCH | More on the Canadians on board and already home:\"\"<\/p>\n

4 Canadians remain aboard cruise ship struck by hantavirus outbreak<\/p>\n

The cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak is heading to the Canary Islands where its remaining passengers, including four Canadians, will disembark. None of those passengers currently have any symptoms.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization said Thursday it has received reports of eight cases, including three deaths, in connection to the MV Hondius outbreak of the rodent-borne Andes virus, the only hantavirus known to be capable of limited transmission between humans.<\/p>\n

“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. <\/p>\n

Anand and Health Minister Marjorie Michel would not take questions from reporters but said a team is working across departments and that public-health protocols will be followed.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Why experts say this is not the next pandemic:\"\"<\/p>\n

Why experts don’t believe hantavirus will be the next pandemic<\/p>\n

The Andes strain of hantavirus, which has led to the deaths of three people on a cruise ship and sickened several others, does not behave like an influenza or Covid virus, says Dr. Allison McGeer, one of Canada’s top infectious disease specialists and a longtime researcher on the epidemiology of influenza.<\/p>\n

Oceanwide Expeditions said the two Canadians who disembarked on April 24 were among 30 passengers from 12 countries who got off the boat that day, including the body of a Dutch man who died on April 11, and his symptomatic wife, who died the next day.<\/p>\n

The operator said a third death took place May 2 after a woman on the ship developed symptoms April 28. <\/p>\n

Quebec Health Minister Sonia B\u00e9langer said the province was on alert for possible exposures to the virus, though risk to the population is “extremely low.” <\/p>\n

Earlier on Thursday, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said two Ontario residents have been isolating since they returned home and it is believed that they are not a transmission risk.<\/p>\n

“But it is fluid and we’ll continue to have those monitoring situations,” Jones said at a news conference.<\/p>\n

Jones said public health officials are monitoring the passengers on a daily basis to make sure that the they are isolating.<\/p>\n

WATCH | ‘Not coronavirus,’ says WHO official:\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018This is not coronavirus\u2019: WHO advises on hantavirus spread<\/p>\n

Officials with the World Health Organization said they\u2019ve confirmed five of the eight suspected cases of hantavirus in passengers who travelled on board the MV Hondius cruise ship that sailed from Argentina back in March. The WHO also said what it’s seeing so far isn\u2019t a large epidemic so long as public health measures are followed.<\/p>\n

Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Zain Chagla told CBC News that not everyone exposed to the virus actually acquires it. <\/p>\n

“There are a number of individuals in prior outbreaks that never acquired it despite being exposed. And so, you know, a good sign that these individuals are getting good care, but also likely a very low threat locally for ongoing transmission,” he said. <\/p>\n

WHO’s director-general said in previous Andes virus outbreaks, the transmission between people was associated with close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members, intimate partners, and people providing medical care.<\/p>\n

“That appears to be the case in the current situation,” he said. “While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low.” <\/p>\n

Jones said the province is preparing to see if there are any other individuals who need to return to Canada and Ontario, and that they are working with federal partners to make sure there is a consistent approach.<\/p>\n

She says the incubation and monitoring period will likely be around 30 days. <\/p>\n

WATCH | WHO downplays threat of huntavirus to public health:\"\"<\/p>\n

WHO downplays hantavirus pandemic fears as contact tracing ramps up<\/p>\n

The WHO says a hantavirus cruise ship outbreak is serious but unlikely to spark a new pandemic, despite confirmed human-to-human transmission and an international contact-tracing effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-630241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}