Today, blood test results were released for a group of individuals quarantined for three weeks at the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience in Western Australia. This group includes four Australian citizens, one permanent Australian resident, and a New Zealand national.
The federal Health Department has assured that all individuals are currently in good health and will only be retested if they begin to show any symptoms.
The group was exposed to the Andes strain of a virus on a cruise ship. The exposure occurred after a couple, who had visited areas in Argentina and Chile known for a rat species that carries the disease, boarded the cruise.
The federal government emphasized that the health and safety of both the community and the cruise passengers are of utmost importance.
In related news, Canada has reported its first case of the virus. The individual diagnosed is one of four Canadians who were aboard the same cruise ship and experienced mild symptoms.
Canadian local authorities have confirmed that the infected individual has not had contact with the general public and is currently in stable condition.
Three people died after contracting Hantavirus on the MV Hondius luxury cruise ship, sparking a global effort to evacuate and quarantine dozens of passengers and crew.
Rats carry hantavirus, but the World Health Organisation said it believed the Andes strain was capable of human-to-human transmission.
It was the first case of a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler previously said the government was taking a precautionary approach, emphasising that human-to-human transmission of the virus was extremely rare.
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