First case in Canada.
It happened in British Columbia. Four travelers returned from the cruise ship MV Hondius earlier this week. They were quarantined. One tested positive for hantavirus on Saturday.
Dr Bonnie Henry, BC’s provincial health officer, confirmed the news at a press conference. The patient is stable. Symptoms are mild. Just fever and headache showing up two days ago. Not the outcome anyone wanted. But it was the plan all along.
“Clearly this is not what we hoped, for, but it is what was planned, for,” she said
The patient is isolated in a Victoria hospital. Under observation. Getting care as needed. It is only a presumptive positive right now though. Samples flew to the national lab in Winnipeg for final confirmation. Results expected by Sunday or Monday.
Their partner? Tested negative. But they aren’t leaving either. Staying in the hospital for more checks. Why risk it. The third person from the lodging got moved to the hospital too. Out of caution. The fourth stays home. Observed daily.
They all arrived on May 10. Assessed. Clean then. None of them felt sick. So they went to lodging. A minimum 21 day wait. Standard protocol for these outbreaks.
Meanwhile in France. The Pasteur Institute sequenced the Andes virus. The one found in a French passenger. Guess what? It matches viruses known in South America. No scary new mutations. No increased transmissibility.
Jean-Claude Manuguera put it bluntly. The variation is just natural drift. It doesn’t change how the virus acts on these travelers.
“No evidence so far of new characteristics.”
Just like the samples from South America. About 97% similarity. Some found in rodents.
The patient is still waiting. So is the world.
