Canadian from hantavirus-hit cruise ship tests positive

The individual is one of four former passengers on the MV Hondius isolating on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Canadian from cruise ship tests positive for hantavirus Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Canadian passengers from the MV Hondius were flown back from Tenerife on 10 May Man in full PPE talks to man and woman wearing blue plastic outer clothing and face masks at the entrance to a Menzies Aviation Boeing 767 plane. Canadian from hantavirus-hit cruise ship tests positive A Canadian who sailed on the cruise ship MV Hondius which was hit by a hantavirus outbreak in April has tested positive for the disease, officials in the province of British Columbia say. The individual, one of four people isolating on Vancouver Island after leaving the ship, had developed mild symptoms. The province's senior health officer said the four had not had any contact with the public since arriving in Canada. The case brings the total number of infections to 11, all among cruise passengers. Three people who travelled on the ship have died, with two confirmed to have had the virus. Men in hazmat suits inside a car with Guardia Civil written on the side and a SPANISH FLAG How are countries responding to hantavirus? Passengers draped in medical blue PPE disembark cruise ship Last passengers leave virus-hit cruise ship as three more test positive passenger in white is screened by health workers in orange in tenerife How worried should we be about hantavirus? British Columbia health officer Bonnie Henry said the person's test came back as a presumptive positive on Friday, meaning that it still remains to be confirmed by a national microbiology lab. "Clearly, this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for," she said, quoted by national broadcaster CBC. "I want to emphasise that hantavirus is a very different virus than the other respiratory viruses that we've been dealing with - like Covid, like influenza, like measles - and it remains one that we do not consider to have pandemic potential," Dr Henry added. Of the six Canadians who were on the Dutch ship, two are self-isolating at their home in Ontario. Two more couples are isolating on Vancouver Island, one from British Columbia and the other from Yukon. The person who tested positive is from Yukon. None of the other five have tested positive so far. The cruise ship, which set sail from Argentina on 1 April, finally docked in Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands, less than a week ago, allowing its 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries to leave and go into isolation. The WHO has recommended 42 days of isolation for each person. The Canadians were initially required to isolate for 21 days but Dr Henry said that timeline could now be adjusted. Hantaviruses are usually carried by rodents, but human transmission of the Andes strain - which the WHO believes some of the ship's passengers contracted in South America - is possible. Symptoms can include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and shortness of breath. Officials say the risk of a major outbreak is very low. Map showing the route of the cruise ship MV Hondius across the South Atlantic Ocean with a timeline of incidents. The ship departs Ushuaia, Argentina on 1 April. On 11 April, the first passenger dies at sea. The route continues north east toward Africa. On 24 April, the wife of the deceased passenger is flown from St Helena to South Africa. A marker near South Africa notes: 26 April, a woman dies in Johannesburg; 27 April, a second sick passenger is flown to hospital. On 2 May, another passenger dies onboard. On 3 May, the ship arrives at Cape Verde. A final note says the ship has arrived in Tenerife on 10 May. The route is shown as a red line with arrows and black dots marking key locations. The booklet offers guidance to carers in Cumbria, where suicide rates are among England's highest. Neil J Catley's new book was created during a "mental health crisis," the photographer says. The Nishkam Healthcare Trust in Handsworth has been given a King's Award for Voluntary Service. Canada has twice delayed access to medically assisted dying for those with mental illness. Claire Brosseau says she cannot wait any longer and wants the courts to decide. Prime Minister Mark Carney has already floated the idea of Canada joining the song contest. The ruling comes after a group leading a petition for Alberta independence said it had gathered enough signatures to trigger a province-wide vote. Researchers at the University of Waterloo found remains of Rich Preston's great great great uncle John Bridgens. The prime minister met Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and other crew members in Ottawa.