Canada confirms first hantavirus case in isolation in British Columbia

"Dr Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's provincial health officer, said the individual developed mild symptoms, including fever and headache, two days ago, and that the individual and their partner, who had also been on board the cruise ship where they had been isolating together, were transferred to a hospital in Victoria for assessment and testing. Henry said that on late Friday evening the test results for the individual who had been experiencing mild symptoms came back positive, though she stressed that the results were currently what we call a presumptive positive and that the samples have been sent to the national microbiology lab in Winnipeg for confirmatory testing."

"Results from those tests are expected to be confirmed over the course of the weekend, Henry said. Clearly this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for, Henry said. The patient is stable, and their symptoms remain mild at this point, Henry said. And they are still in hospital, in isolation, being monitored and receiving care as needed. The patient's partner tested negative, but will also remain in hospital for further monitoring and assessment, Henry said."

"Out of what Henry described as an abundance of caution, the third individual who had been isolating in the same lodging has also been transferred to hospital for monitoring. The fourth person continues to isolate at home under daily observation, she said. The four Canadians who had been on board the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, where the hantavirus outbreak occurred, arrived in Victoria on 10 May, Henry said, adding that on arrival, all four of them were assessed and none of them had any symptoms at that time."

One of four Canadians quarantining in British Columbia after exposure to hantavirus on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius has presumptively tested positive. The individual developed mild symptoms, including fever and headache, two days earlier. The person and their partner were transferred to a hospital in Victoria for assessment and testing after late Friday evening results returned positive for the symptomatic individual. The result is presumptive, and samples were sent to the national microbiology lab in Winnipeg for confirmatory testing expected over the weekend. The patient is stable with mild symptoms and remains in hospital in isolation. The partner tested negative but will remain for monitoring. A third person was also transferred for monitoring, while a fourth continues home isolation under daily observation.

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