By: Marie Jen Galilo, Staff Writer
On April 1, the MV Hondius cruise departed from Argentina with two Dutch passengers who were carrying the Andes virus, leading to a boat-wide outbreak. In their latest update, released on May 28, the World Health Organization (WHO) shared in a report that there are 11 confirmed cases, two probable cases, and three deaths linked to the hantavirus.
On May 16, BC provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the first confirmed case of Andes virus in BC. Four passengers from the cruise were brought into BC. Initially, they were asked to isolate for 21 days. One passenger, who is a Yukon resident, tested positive for the virus but has since recovered, according to BC health officials. Following this confirmed case, the isolation time for the other passengers was extended to 42 days, the maximum incubation period for the Andes virus. The other three passengers are currently asymptomatic but remain in quarantine until June 21.
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses — submicroscopic bodies that require a host to reproduce — that include more than 20 species. The viruses primarily use rodents, “such as rats, mice, and voles,” as hosts. According to the University Health Network (UHN), common modes of transmission include inhalation of air particles from “rodent droppings, urine, or saliva,” as well as the consumption of “contaminated food or water.” The Andes virus is the only identifiable species known to have the capacity of human-to-human transmission: following prolonged, close contact with an infected individual, although these transmissions are rare. According to the WHO, this is “defined as being within 2 meters for a cumulative period of more than 15 minutes.”
The specific species of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise was identified as the Andes virus, which may “cause a condition called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS),” according to the UHN.
The Peak spoke with virologist and SFU associate professor of health sciences, Dr. Masahiro Niikura to learn more about hantavirus. He shared, “The severeness of the disease and the transmissibility — how contagious a virus is — [are] totally different things.
“The virus that can cause a pandemic is [one that is] easily transmitted in the human population. Hantavirus is not.”
— Dr. Masahiro Niikura, virologist and SFU professor of health sciences
Hantavirus is shed mostly in the urine.” COVID-19, for example, is primarily spread through airborne particles or respiratory droplets. Although both viruses can spread in multiple ways, the current understanding of how the Andes virus spreads makes it “easier to control, to contain.”
Dr. Niikura emphasized that the location in which the virus replicates is often where it will be transmitted. “If the virus is replicating in the upper respiratory tract, the virus is more likely to be shed from the mouth, like cough, sneezing, or saliva,” he shared. Currently, “it is not clear whether the virus is present in this way or how long it might survive in respiratory particles,” according to Scientific American. “In many cases, hantaviruses are replicating deeper inside of the body.”
Currently, there is limited progress in the development of vaccines and treatment for the hantavirus, which Dr. Niikura said may be due to a lack of demand. “Because this virus is not highly contagious and human cases are so rare in developed countries, the demand for an effective vaccine is limited,” he shared. In Argentina, Andes virus cases are numerous, especially in tight-knit rural communities. More cases are cropping up in the country’s populous capital, Buenos Aires.
The Peak also reached out to BCCDC for a statement, who shared that “the risk of being exposed to hantavirus in BC is low,” but advised people to “avoid dust that could be contaminated with the saliva, urine, or droppings of infected deer mice.” In BC, “Workers and homeowners can be exposed in crawl spaces, under houses, or in vacant or occasional use buildings, such as cottages, trailers and garden sheds, that may harbour mice. Campers and hikers can also be exposed when they use infested trail shelters or camp in other deer mouse habitats.”
For information on how to identify and protect yourself from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, visit the BCCDC website and HealthLink BC.
