Two Indian nationals aboard the Hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship are “healthy and asymptomatic”, the Indian embassy in Spain confirmed on Sunday.
The embassy issued a statement on X saying that two Indian nationals were traveling as crew members and were evacuated to the Netherlands.
“The 02 Indian nationals are healthy and asymptomatic. As informed by the Spanish National Center for Emergency Monitoring and Coordination (CENEM), the 02 Indian nationals who were traveling as crew members have been evacuated to the Netherlands, where they will be quarantined according to the relevant health security protocol,” the statement said.
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Hantavirus is a virus that is primarily spread through contact with infected rodents, particularly through their urine, feces, or saliva. It can also be transmitted by breathing in contaminated dust. The Andes strain identified in the MV Hondius outbreak is notable because it can spread between humans, although this requires very close contact.
Hantavir symptoms are similar to other viral illnesses, including fever, body aches and headaches. The incubation period can range from four to eight weeks, some sources say up to six weeks. In severe cases, it can quickly progress to respiratory failure.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from MV Hondius. This includes daily health checks, either at home or in a specialized facility, to monitor symptoms relative to the incubation period of the virus.
The MV Hondius experienced a deadly outbreak of Hantavirus which resulted in the death of three passengers. Following the outbreak, passengers and crew were evacuated from the Canary Islands, with many undergoing quarantine upon arrival in their home countries.
Health officials stressed that the risk of Hantavir to the general public is low. The virus is not another COVID-19 and does not spread as easily, so there is no need to panic.
Read also | He compares the MV Hondius outbreak to the Diamond Princess Covid-19 nightmare
It was further informed that the ambassador is in close contact with the Spanish authorities and two Indian nationals (crew members). The ambassador is “regularly monitoring the situation to ensure the welfare and safety of Indian citizens,” the embassy said.
She added that the Dutch-flagged vessel MV Hondius with around 150 people, including two Indian nationals, arrived in Spain on Sunday.
“In connection with the hantavirus outbreak, the ship docked off the coast of the Canary Islands in Spain. Passengers on board disembarked the ship in accordance with the protocol established by the WHO and Spanish authorities,” the embassy said.
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What is recommended for passengers?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from the ship starting Sunday, its director of epidemics and pandemics Maria Van Kerkhove told a briefing.
Spanish passengers will be kept in hospital for a full 42 days, while French passengers will be hospitalized for 72 hours, after which they will be allowed home to self-isolate for a further 45 days, according to their respective governments.
“Our recommendations are daily health checks, at home or in a specialized facility. It is up to countries to create their policies, but our recommendations are very clear,” Van Kerkhove said, stressing that the incubation period of the virus was up to six weeks.
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Hantavirus horror
An outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship claimed the lives of three passengers. Five passengers who left the ship were infected with hantavirus, which can cause a life-threatening illness, the AP reported.
Spain said more than 90 of the nearly 150 people on a cruise ship hit by the deadly hantavirus outbreak would be evacuated from the Canary Islands by the end of Sunday.
With British, Turkish, Irish and American citizens scheduled to depart on Sunday, “it will have a total of more than 90 passengers, including passengers and crew,” Spanish Health Minister Javier Padilla said in a video shared on social media.
Disembarking passengers and crew leave their luggage behind and can only take a small bag with essentials, a cell phone, charger and documentation, the AP reported.
Part of the crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where it will be disinfected, Spanish authorities said.
Read also | He compares the MV Hondius outbreak to the Diamond Princess Covid-19 nightmare
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated that the general public should not fear the epidemic.
“We repeated the same answer many times,” he said. “This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn’t be afraid and they shouldn’t panic,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr Ishwar Gilada, chairman and managing director of Unison Medicare and Research Centre, while explaining about Hantavirus, told PTI, “Hantavirus is not a new virus. It is an old virus… Hantavirus is a rodent virus… It is a zoonotic infection… It has an incubation period of four to eight weeks.”
Read also | Hantavirus outbreak: WHO urges calm as cruise ship approaches Tenerife
There are no vaccines or specific treatments for the hantavirus, which is endemic in Argentina, where the ship sailed in April. However, health officials have stressed that the risk to global public health is low and played down comparisons with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Professor in the Department of Medicine at AIIMS, Dr. Neeraj Nischal, also said, “A Covid-like pandemic is unlikely due to the different mode of transmission. The symptoms of this virus are similar to any other viral illness – fever, body ache, headache, etc. However, those at risk, especially those traveling from affected areas, should seek immediate medical attention…Hantavirus has a fatality rate of 4005%.”
