Two residents of Singapore who were on board the MV Hondius cruise ship, which reported an outbreak of Andes hantavirus, are being tested.
The Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said it was notified on May 4 and 5 about the two residents.
Both of them have been isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), where they are being tested for hantavirus. Their test results are not ready.
One has a runny nose but is otherwise well, and the other has no symptoms.
The first, a 67-year-old Singaporean man, arrived in Singapore on May 2. The second, a 65-year-old Singapore permanent resident, arrived in Singapore on May 6.
Both were on board the MV Hondius cruise ship when it left the Argentinian port Ushuaia on April 1.
They later got off the ship and got on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case.
The flight was to the South African city of Johannesburg from St Helena Island on April 25.
The source of the exposure was a passenger on that flight who subsequently died in South Africa; the individual did not travel to Singapore.
St Helena is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 2,000km off the coast of Africa.
CDA said that if the two Singapore residents test negative for hantavirus, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure, as most hantavirus cases are expected to show signs of infection within this period.
They will be tested again before being released from quarantine. For the rest of the 45-day monitoring period, they will be monitored remotely – for instance, by reporting their health status daily through tracking apps.
The maximum incubation period for hantavirus exposure is 45 days.
If a test comes out positive, the infected patient will remain in hospital for monitoring and treatment because a hantavirus infection can become serious. Contact tracing will be done to identify people who were exposed during the infectious period. People who have come into close contact with the two residents will also be quarantined, CDA said.
Eight hantavirus cases, including three deaths, have been linked to the cluster on the cruise ship so far. Five of eight suspected cases of hantavirus linked to the vessel have been confirmed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said at a press briefing on Thursday.
WHO assesses the risk to the global population as low, CDA said.
People can become infected with the hantavirus if they breathe in dust contaminated with urine, droppings or saliva from infected rodents, especially when cleaning or disturbing areas where there are rodents.
While hantaviruses do not usually spread from person to person, one species – the Andes virus, found in parts of South America – has been linked with human-to-human transmission.
Symptoms of infection with the Andes virus typically include fever, body aches, fatigue, gastrointestinal symptoms and difficulty breathing.
It can progress rapidly to shock and death, CDA said. — The Straits Times/ANN
