Four Belgians cleared after hantavirus contact tracing linked to cruise ship outbreak
Four Belgians who were initially told to quarantine after possible exposure to hantavirus on board the cruise ship MV Hondius no longer need to isolate, Belgium’s FPS Public Health said on Sunday.
The four people (one from Brussels and three from Wallonia) had been identified through international contact tracing after infected passengers left the ship earlier this week. However, further investigation found they had not been in risky contact with anyone carrying the virus.
Health officials said there is therefore “no risk” that the four have been infected with hantavirus. None of them developed symptoms during monitoring by the regional health authorities AVIQ and Vivalis.
On Saturday, authorities had said the four would need to remain in home quarantine for the virus’s full six-week incubation period.
Meanwhile, the two Belgian passengers who remained on board the Hondius have now left the ship on a Dutch charter flight bound for the Netherlands. They are expected to undergo medical checks before being transferred to Belgium for further evaluation at Antwerp University Hospital.
The hantavirus outbreak linked to the expedition cruise ship has already caused three deaths. Several infected passengers were evacuated earlier this week. Human-to-human transmission of the virus is considered rare, but health authorities have continued extensive contact tracing as a precaution.
The Dutch-flagged hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius anchors at the industrial port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife © Jorge GUERRERO / AFP