Canadian from hantavirus-hit cruise ship tests positive

A Canadian who sailed on the cruise ship MV Hondius which was hit by a hantavirus outbreak in April has tested positive for the disease, officials in the province of British Columbia say.The individual, one of four people isolating on Vancouver Island after leaving the ship, had developed mild symptoms.The province's senior health officer said the four had not had any contact with the public since arriving in Canada.The case brings the total number of infections to 11, all among cruise passengers. Three people who travelled on the ship have died, with two confirmed to have had the virus.British Columbia health officer Bonnie Henry said the person's test came back as a presumptive positive on Friday, meaning that it still remains to be confirmed by a national microbiology lab."Clearly, this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for," she said, quoted by national broadcaster CBC."I want to emphasise that hantavirus is a very different virus than the other respiratory viruses that we've been dealing with - like Covid, like influenza, like Measles - and it remains one that we do not consider to have pandemic potential," Dr Henry added.