One Canadian tests positive for hantavirus, BC officials say

TORONTO, May 16 (Reuters) – British Columbia’s government said on Saturday one Canadian tested positive for hantavirus after leaving a luxury cruise ship hit by an outbreak of the ‌Andes strain of the virus. 

The individual, who was tested at a hospital in Victoria, B.C., on Vancouver Island, after developing mild symptoms, is one of four Canadians isolating on the island after leaving the MV Hondius, a Dutch luxury cruise ship, that departed Argentina on a polar expedition on April 1.

The group included two couples – one from Yukon and another from B.C. The individual who tested positive is from Yukon, officials said.

The Yukon couple is being tested in B.C. because that service is unavailable in the northern territory, said  B.C. provincial health officer Bonnie Henry.

Henry said the four people had not come in contact with the public when they were transferred from their flight to Victoria. The person who tested positive is in stable condition, she said. 

The Andes strain of hantavirus, identified in the ‌outbreak on the cruise ship, can cause severe lung illness that can be fatal in up to 50% of cases, according to the World Health Organization.

Hantaviruses ⁠are a group of viruses that are usually spread by rodents, but ​in rare cases can be transmitted person to person. Health authorities have ​said the risk of the virus spreading is low.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in TorontoEditing by Rod Nickel)