90-Second Read: Spanish passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship tests positive for Hantavirus

A Spanish national in quarantine in a Madrid military hospital, and who is among those evacuated from a cruise ship earlier this month, has tested positive of Hantavirus, Spain's Health Ministry said on Monday. And earlier this month, federal health officials said another 26 Canadians, who were on the same planes as a confirmed Hantavirus case and considered low risk, were being told to monitor for symptoms. The Andes Hantavirus outbreak, which ⁠is primarily spread by rodents but can be transmitted between people in ⁠rare cases, ⁠was reported in early May aboard the cruise ship.

The ship had been carrying about 150 passengers, including four Canadians, and crew from 23 countries when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2. The symptoms of a Hantavirus infection can appear anywhere from one to eight weeks after exposure, b ut the majority of cases tend to appear within four to six weeks. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed a positive case of Hantavirus in one of the Canadians who was isolating in B.C.

In total, 36 Canadians have been impacted by this outbreak. Aside from the four passengers who were recently evacuated from the cruise ship, another two Canadians, who had been on the ship but disembarked at an earlier location, are also isolating and monitoring for symptoms. PHAC said a second person who travelled with the confirmed case tested negat ive for the virus.