New details released about Ontario residents who are in isolation after cruise ship hantavirus outbreak

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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.

Public health officials have said in the past that the incubation period for hantavirus can be anywhere from one to four weeks.

“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,” he said.

The local health unit, Grey-Bruce Health, is monitoring their symptoms at the moment.

In a statement, Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Brittany Graham said there is low risk to the local population.

“Grey Bruce Public Health is checking in with the individuals on a daily basis to confirm their health status and ensuring their ability to maintain appropriate isolation,” Graham said. “Protocols are in place to connect the individuals with health care in the event that it is needed.”

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.

Unlike COVID, Moore said, Hantavirus is not a new infection and there are established protocols for dealing with it.

“We’ve known about it (Hantavirus) since 1995, we know that it has very limited spread between humans,” Moore said.

“Argentina has shared with us their protocols, their policies, their recommendations on how to follow these patients, they have the greatest experience with this virus, and from our understanding from the World Health Organization, there’s been no significant change in this virus that we’re aware of.”

He said Ontario’s health care system is well-equipped to manage these sorts of infections and there is no advice to the public to do anything differently.

“My key message is it’s low risk for Ontarians, but we’re prepared,” Moore said.

Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Michelle Murti told CP24 on Thursday that hantavirus is extremely rare in Ontario and that the province hasn’t seen a case “in the last 10 years.”

“Most cases in Canada typically occur in some other provinces, in B.C., Manitoba and Quebec. But even then, we’ve only had 109 cases since 1989,” she said.

With files from Siobhan Morris and AP