Singapore Tests Two Residents for Hantavirus After Cruise Outbreak
Singapore's Communicable Diseases Agency has isolated two men who traveled on a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has killed three people.
Singapore has isolated and is testing two residents who were passengers on a cruise ship connected to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, according to the Communicable Diseases Agency. The two men, aged 65 and 67, are currently isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.[1]
The men were aboard the MV Hondius, which departed from the Argentinian port of Ushuaia on April 1. The outbreak on the vessel has resulted in the deaths of a Dutch couple and a German national, with eight people believed to have contracted the virus. Hantavirus is typically transmitted by rodents, though rare person-to-person spread can occur.[1]
Following their time on the ship, both Singapore residents took a flight from St Helena to Johannesburg on April 25. They shared this flight with a confirmed hantavirus patient who later died in South Africa without traveling to Singapore.[1]
The Communicable Diseases Agency stated on Thursday that one of the isolated men has a runny nose but is otherwise well, while the second man is asymptomatic. Officials noted that the current risk to the general public in Singapore remains low.[1]
If the men test negative for the virus, they will face a 30-day quarantine calculated from their last date of exposure. Should they test positive, they will remain hospitalized for further treatment and monitoring as global health authorities continue tracking passengers from the affected ship.[1]
