MV Hondius' 38 Filipino crew don't have hantavirus, DMW says

None of the 38 Filipino crew members working aboard the MV Hondius has contracted hantavirus amid an outbreak on the ship, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said Thursday.

Cacdac said he had spoken with the manning agency and the ship's owner, who gave him the assurance.

“All 38 Filipino crew have reportedly not been afflicted. Hindi sila nadapuan ng hantavirus. However, we continue to monitor their situation,” he said.

His statement echoed the Department of Health's confirmation on Tuesday that none of the Filipino crew members had been stricken by the disease.

It is not yet clear what specific type of tests were conducted on the crew members. However, Cacdac said they continue to be monitored for any symptoms of hantavirus.

EXPLAINER: What is hantavirus?

The Department of Health is also directly coordinating with the World Health Organization regarding the situation.

It was reported this week that three people have died—a German passenger and a Dutch couple—on the ship, which was traveling in the Atlantic from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.

The WHO suspects that the Dutch couple may have already been infected with hantavirus before boarding the ship.

A British national is also in intensive care in South Africa, while three other European nationals were evacuated today due to suspected hantavirus. Two of them are reportedly in critical condition and will be treated in The Netherlands.

The Swiss government also said a man who returned to Switzerland after boarding the MV Hondius is being treated in Zurich.

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases found that some passengers had contracted the Andes strain, the only known hantavirus strain that can be transmitted from person to person.

According to the WHO, hantavirus is usually acquired through exposure to the urine or droppings of infected rodents. However, in rare cases, it may be transmitted from human to human.

Symptoms include fever, headache, body pain, vomiting, and weakness.

The WHO, however, clarified that the risk to the general population remains low.

Repatriation

The Hondius, with nearly 150 people on board, is expected to dock in Spain's Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, by Saturday, according to Reuters.

Once in Tenerife, if they are still healthy, all non-Spanish citizens will be repatriated to their countries, while 14 Spanish passengers will be quarantined in a military hospital in Madrid.

Since those aboard the MV Hondius, including the Filipino crew members, are expected to undergo quarantine, it is still unclear whether they will be tested again and placed under quarantine upon their return to the Philippines.

The DOH said it has the capacity to test individuals who may have been exposed to hantavirus, including the 38 Filipino crew members aboard the MV Hondius.

Cacdac said authorities must be given time to carry out the necessary medical protocols.

“We need to give the proper medical authorities the and the processes the clearances and the protocols time to take shape and as well to be implemented,” he said. — with a report from Reuters/BM, GMA News