NZ passenger from hantavirus cruise quarantined in Taiwan until June 6
TAIPEI, May 15 — A New Zealand passenger from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship is in hospital quarantine in Taiwan, Taiwanese health authorities said today.
The person, who has tested negative for the rare disease and is showing no symptoms, arrived in Taiwan on May 7 after disembarking from the cruise ship in Saint Helena on April 24.
New Zealand authorities told Taiwan’s Centres for Disease Control (CDC) on Wednesday that the person was in Taiwan, CDC spokeswoman Tseng Shu-hui said.
The person was admitted to hospital the same day and will remain there until June 6, Tseng told AFP.
Tseng declined to provide details about the person’s age, gender or current location in Taiwan.
“At present, we believe their probability of developing the disease is relatively low,” Tseng said.
“Their last exposure with the other passengers was on the 25th (of April), which is about 20 days ago.”
The virus has a potential incubation period of 42 days.
CDC director-general Lo Yi-chun told reporters that the person did not return to New Zealand after leaving the cruise ship, but he would not provide information on the route they took to Taiwan.
A spokesperson for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said it is “providing consular assistance to a dual national” in Taiwan.
“The person resides outside New Zealand and sought help from MFAT on Wednesday 13 May,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ship set sail from Argentina on April 1, charting a course across the Atlantic Ocean.
Health authorities have repeatedly emphasised that the broader risk to public health from the outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus — the only one known to spread between people — is low.
Globally, the death toll remains at three.
No vaccines or specific treatments exist, but health officials have said the risk is low and have dismissed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic.
