Passengers stranded on a Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship are set to land at an airforce base in Western Australia and be isolated for three weeks of quarantine. The group — including four Australians, a permanent resident and a New Zealander from the MV Hondius — will be among the last to leave the infected vessel, docked at the Spanish island of Tenerife, and are expected to land in Australia on Tuesday.
Deadly outbreak on board
Three people died on the ship after an outbreak of the Andes strain of Hantavirus infected eight individuals. The cases were reported in early May, and the cruise has been locked down since. Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. However, the strain detected on the ship may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms typically appear between one and eight weeks after exposure. No human cases have ever been recorded in Australia.
Quarantine arrangements
Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed on Monday that the Australians — two from Queensland and three from New South Wales — and one New Zealander will undergo quarantine at the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience. The quarantine facility, built at a cost of $400 million toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and hardly used, is adjacent to the Pearce RAAF Base in Perth's outer northern suburbs. The group will spend three weeks in quarantine, though the disease has an incubation period of 42 days.
As of Monday afternoon, flights were still being finalised. "The flight will be arranged by DFAT to repatriate those Australians and that New Zealander," Butler said. "They will land at RAAF Base Pearce, and those six people will be transferred immediately to that quarantine facility directly next door to the RAAF base." Whether the patients will be quarantined after the three weeks end is unclear. "This period of three weeks' quarantine will only cover part of the 42-day quarantine period or potential incubation period that is relevant to this particular virus," Butler added. "We'll be seeking further advice from the chief health officers about what arrangements should take place beyond that initial three weeks."
Government's primary focus
Butler emphasised that the federal government's main concern is preventing the disease from spreading. "I want to stress that our primary responsibility as a government is to keep our community safe and healthy," he said. "We also have a responsibility to those passengers to bring them home and to protect them from any risk of potentially transmitting the virus without knowing it. These arrangements discharge both of those responsibilities." Butler did not detail whether staff on the long flight from Tenerife to Perth will be quarantined but noted they will be "subject to very high levels of protection."
Updated travel warnings
The news comes after authorities issued an updated hantavirus warning for those in or planning to travel to Argentina. Smartraveller advised that the disease continues to pose a risk in the country, including in and around Buenos Aires and Northern Patagonia. The virus is generally spread through contact with infected rodents, and authorities warned people to avoid contact with live or dead rodents, nests, burrows and droppings. "Infected rodents spread hantavirus pulmonary syndrome," the advice stated. "To protect yourself, avoid contact with live or dead rodents, burrows or nests. Avoid places where dust is raised, such as from sweeping and vacuuming their droppings. Choose a campsite that is open and dry. Don't rest in tall grasses or haystacks, and remove food sources that may attract rodents."
Authorities, including the World Health Organization, are monitoring the evacuations off the MV Hondius. Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said "the entire procedure was proceeding normally." The Australian government confirmed that officials in both Tenerife and Canberra have been coordinating the response, and medical staff will be on board the charter flight, departing around 1 am Australian time on Tuesday. None of the six passengers showed any symptoms of the virus but will have to quarantine upon arrival.
