Singapore tests two residents for hantavirus after cruise outbreak

Singapore has isolated and is testing two residents who were onboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said on Thursday.

Countries worldwide are tracking passengers on the virus-hit ship to prevent further spread of the hantavirus. Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - have died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius, while eight people are believed to have contracted the virus.

Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.

The two residents of Singapore, men aged 67 and 65, have been isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. They were onboard the MV Hondius when it departed from the Argentinian port of Ushuaia on April 1, the CDA said in a statement.

"One has a runny nose but is otherwise well, and the other is asymptomatic. The risk to the general public in Singapore is currently low," the CDA said.

If they test negative for hantavirus, the men will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure and if they test positive, they will remain hospitalised for monitoring and treatment.

Both had disembarked from the ship and were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on April 25. The confirmed case did not travel to Singapore and has since passed away in South Africa, the agency said.

-Fabiola Arámburo/Reuters