Canada’s first positive test for the Andes strain of hantavirus linked to the outbreak from the cruise ship MV Hondius has been confirmed in B.C.

B.C.’s top doctor shared the news today, stressing that there’s currently no risk to public safety.

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“Clearly, this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer of B.C.

She was sharing an update on the four people who have been isolating on Vancouver Island since disembarking the cruise ship, which suffered a fatal hantavirus outbreak earlier this month.

“One individual started to develop mild symptoms, including a fever and headache. The BCCDC public health lab reported that the test on the individual who had these mild symptoms was positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus.”

Dr. Bonnie Henry says the patient is in stable condition.

Their partner, who was also on the ship, has developed symptoms as well, but so far they’ve tested negative.

The couple is being treated at Victoria General Hospital – along with a third passenger, who is being assessed and tested as a precaution.

“Everyone in B.C. should feel reassured that the systems and protocols we have in place are working – they’re working as intended, and the appropriate precautions are being taken every step of the way to keep people safe,” Henry stressed.

It’s the first recorded case in Canada of this specific variant – the Andes strain – which has triggered global concern due to its high mortality rate, as well as its ability to transmit human-to-human. But experts say there’s no credible threat of a pandemic – 

“This is not Covid, it’s very different from Covid, and it should be understood in that way. The pandemic risk of hantavirus is infinitesimally small, if not non-existent,” explained epidemiologist Dr. Brian Conway.

He says that the main reason for that is how difficult it is to transmit the virus, given that it requires prolonged close contact with someone who has symptoms or is just on the cusp of developing them.

“We understand this virus. It spreads from rodents to humans. It very rarely spreads from human to human, and it’s only this one strain.”

Hantaviruses are typically found in deer mice – a species that is native to Canada.

“Depending on what part of the province you live in, that might be one of the more dominant rodent species in an area, so it’s incredibly common,” Conway said.

A different, less dangerous strain of hantavirus – the Sin Nombre variant – has actually been present in North American rodents for decades, leading to approximately 150 cases in humans across the continent.

But the Andes variant that’s of concern here is isolated to South American mice, with rodent experts saying that it’ll stay there.

“The risk of that spilling over into our rodent populations is, from my understanding, not there.”

B.C. health officials say that besides the health care workers treating them, the patients have had no contact with the public.

About a dozen cases of the Andes strain linked to the cruise ship have been identified globally, resulting in three deaths.