The Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has confirmed that one of the evacuated patients from the cruise ship MV Hondius has tested positive for hantavirus infection.
The Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen reported that the positive result came from a former passenger of the vessel. The hospital stated that isolation measures have been implemented in the ward where the patient is being treated to prevent further spread. This brings the total number of infected passengers and crew aboard the Hondius to nine.
Earlier, Dutch authorities confirmed that three passengers evacuated on May 6 and 7 were hospitalized in different medical facilities across the Netherlands, including Nijmegen and Leiden.
The MV Hondius is expected to arrive in the Canary Islands on May 10. Previously, eight cases of hantavirus infection had been detected on board. So far, three passengers—including a married couple from the Netherlands—have died, while one patient remains in critical condition in a hospital in Johannesburg.
To contain the outbreak, passengers have been instructed to remain in their cabins. However, the incubation period of hantavirus, which can last several weeks, makes the early detection of new cases more difficult.
