British Columbia’s top doctor says the four passengers returning home from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship remain in a “critical period,” but stressed she would not call them “patients” as they are not considered infected.
Henry told reporters they will be monitoring the four passengers, ensuring they are cared for during the minimum isolation period of 21 days.
“We know as well the incubation period of this strain of the virus can be as long as six weeks, so we’re at actually a critical period,” she said. “We know the median incubation period is about 15 to 18 days, so we’re still in a period of time when we may see more cases arise.”
She added the four people had exposure to the virus but have shown no symptoms.
“So we treat them as contacts, we are hoping that none of them are infected and that none of them will develop disease,” she said. “But the incubation period, so the period between the time you were exposed and the time you might develop the disease is as long as six weeks, so we have to wait out that six weeks to make sure that nobody was infected.”
The four individuals were aboard the MV Hondius when the outbreak began, with eight cases and three deaths reported of the hantavirus.
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The ship docked in Tenerife, Spain, on Sunday morning, and the four B.C. residents wore protective gear as they climbed the stairs of a plane bound for the Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, roughly two hours outside of Quebec City.
Global Affairs Canada says they will change planes for a flight to the West Coast. Officials declined to identify their destination in B.C.
There, Henry said the four Canadians would go through a health assessment by local public health officials before being transported directly to individual lodgings for them to isolate.
“At no point do we expect them to be in contact with the public during this arrival process or during their isolation period,” Henry said.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s owner, said there were four Canadians among the roughly 130 asymptomatic passengers.
The company says representatives from a number of groups, including the World Health Organization, screened passengers at the port.
According to Henry, the 21-day isolation period goes back to the last potential contact with somebody who had the virus, which is believed to be May 6.
Once this period ends, local public health officials will reassess the situation based and could extend the self-isolation period to a maximum of 42 days total since last potential exposure.
If any of the four individuals develop symptoms, Henry said there are detailed plans in place to be able to safely do assessments and testing.
She added, if necessary, the province has a specialized biocontainment unit treatment centre at Surrey Memorial Hospital that has been used in the past.
“I know they (the passengers) are undoubtedly looking forward to being back home in Canada where they can get the care and monitoring they need,” Henry said.
The Canadian Armed Forces is assisting Global Affairs Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada in repatriating the four Canadians, however, their assistance is limited to facilitating the transfer of the four people on a chartered return flight and their transfer from PHAC to provincial health authorities in B.C.
The virus originates in rodents, and the version on the cruise ship – the Andes virus – is the only one known to spread from human to human, though it’s not very contagious.
It’s why Henry stressed she recognized people’s concerns following the COVID-19 pandemic because it cannot transmit in the same way.
“It causes infections that are more deep in the lungs, it can cause the kidneys to fail and a number of other symptoms and it’s not spread as easily through coughing,” Henry said. “You have to have as we’ve found out from the people who’ve been dealing with this virus, and with all the hantoviruses, having very close contact with somebody who’s infected. Even that it’s still very rare that it’s transmitted from person to person.”
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