90-Second Read: Three linked to Hantavirus outbreak remain in hospital in Victoria

A Yukon woman in her 70s who tested positive for the Andes strain of Hantavirus remains in hospital in Victoria in stable condition. The woman had been a passenger on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which experienced a Hantavirus outbreak. Three people have died as a result of the outbreak linked to the MV Hondius.

The two are being monitored in isolation in hospital, it said. A fourth person associated with the outbreak, who is in their 70s, also remains asymptomatic and is isolating in their home on Vancouver Island. Hantaviruses are usually transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings or saliva, however human-to-human transmission has also been documented for the Andes virus, which is endemic in some parts of the Americas.

The World Health Organization says there is no specific antiviral treatment that cures Hantavirus diseases or vaccine that prevents them. It says early supportive medical care is key to improving survival, and focuses on close clinical monitoring and management of respiratory, cardiac and kidney complications. The woman's husband and another individual in their 50s who is from B.C.