A cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak is expected to dock at the Dutch port of Rotterdam on Monday morning. The MV Hondius has been sailing for six days from the Canary Islands, where remaining passengers were disembarked by personnel in full protective gear and flown to over 20 countries for quarantine.
Outbreak Details
The World Health Organization reports 11 cases, with nine confirmed. Three passengers have died, including a Dutch couple believed to have been initially exposed to the virus while visiting South America. The vessel traveled from Tenerife along the coasts of Africa and Europe, carrying 25 crew members and two medical staff. According to Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship operator, no one currently onboard shows symptoms.
Quarantine Measures
Crew members unable to return home will be quarantined in the Netherlands, as stated by the Dutch health ministry last week. About two dozen passengers and crew are already in quarantine in the country after arriving on flights over the past two weeks. The Public Health Agency of Canada reported Sunday that one of four Canadians in isolation after leaving the ship tested positive, though this case is not yet included in WHO data.
Eighteen Americans are under observation at specialized U.S. healthcare facilities for dangerous infectious diseases. Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's public health officer, noted on Saturday that the individual received a "presumptive positive" result, with further testing at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg pending.
Ship Decontamination
Once all onboard have disembarked, the ship will be decontaminated following Dutch public health guidelines. "Personal protective measures are being taken to ensure cleaners do not need to quarantine after cleaning," the health ministry wrote in a letter to parliament last week. Public health officials will inspect the vessel before it resumes sailing. This hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius is the first known on a cruise ship.
Future Operations
The Dutch company owning the cruise ship does not foresee operational changes. An Arctic cruise from Keflavik, Iceland, is scheduled for May 29. France's Pasteur Institute announced Saturday it had fully sequenced the Andes virus from a French passenger on the MV Hondius, finding it matches known South American viruses with no evidence of increased transmissibility or danger.
