Canadian officials confirmed on Sunday that one of four Canadians who returned from the MV Hondius cruise tested positive for hantavirus, a rare illness linked to an outbreak aboard the ship that has left three people dead and drawn attention from the World Health Organization and hospitals in the Netherlands. British Columbia public health authorities, Yukon officials and investigators tracing cases from Vancouver Island and other repatriated passengers are all mentioned as part of the growing international response.
Health authorities in Canada said a sample from one returning traveler came back positive for hantavirus, and the Public Health Agency of Canada followed by noting, “One individual’s sample was confirmed positive for hantavirus.” British Columbia officials had previously described that case as a “presumptive positive” while additional testing is arranged at a national laboratory to pin down specifics.
The MV Hondius outbreak has been linked to a small but worrying cluster of illnesses. As of May 13, the World Health Organization reported 11 cases connected to the cruise, including eight confirmed, two probable and one inconclusive case, and three of those people have died. Subsequent reports suggest that around 10 people from the vessel ultimately tested positive in various labs.
Four Canadians who had been on the cruise returned home, though only the one individual so far has a confirmed positive result. The confirmed patient and a traveling companion, described as a Yukon couple in their 70s, returned together; the companion tested negative. Separately, a person in their 70s from Vancouver Island remains in isolation alongside a British Columbia resident in their 50s while authorities keep monitoring symptoms and contacts.
Investigations into how the virus spread are ongoing and international agencies are treating the situation seriously but cautiously. The MV Hondius had departed Argentina on April 1 for a South Atlantic voyage carrying 147 passengers and crew, and authorities on multiple continents have since worked to identify and test people who were on board. In the Netherlands, Radboud University Medical Center quarantined 12 staff members after a protocol lapse when handling a patient’s blood and urine raised concerns.
Public health experts emphasize that hantavirus behaves differently from more common respiratory viruses, and transmission tends to be limited. Dr. Marc Siegel told Fox News Digital there is “no comparison.” He added that hantavirus is not spread like typical airborne respiratory viruses, saying, “It’s not airborne … in terms of respiratory droplets hanging in the air,” and that “It’s very difficult to transmit.”
The World Health Organization has called the risk to the global population low while noting that evidence suggests human-to-human transmission may have occurred on this ship. That is notable because Andes virus is essentially the only hantavirus documented to spread between people, and even so such transmission is considered rare. Public health teams are sequencing samples and retesting inconclusive results to better understand whether and how person-to-person spread took place.
In the United States, no confirmed cases directly tied to the cruise had been reported at the time of the WHO update, though one repatriated U.S. passenger produced inconclusive lab results and underwent retesting. Separately, Ontario County, New York, announced an investigation into a suspected locally acquired hantavirus case that officials said was unrelated to the cruise and posed no risk to the general public, noting that the strain typically seen in the U.S. does not usually spread between people.
Public health messages remain straightforward: hantavirus cases are rare but can be serious, and clinicians are being urged to test any suspicious respiratory or febrile illnesses in people who were on the voyage or who had possible exposures. Global and local authorities continue contact tracing, laboratory confirmation and quarantine measures as needed while sharing findings to prevent further spread. Contributors to reporting on this situation include Brittany Miller and Angelica Stabile, along with The Associated Press.
