Australia To Quarantine Evacuees From Hantavirus-Linked Cruise Ship

CANBERRA, May 11 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Australians repatriated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius will undergo quarantine at a facility in Perth for at least three weeks, Health Minister Mark Butler said on Monday, confirming that none had shown symptoms, reported Xinhua.

Four Australian citizens and one permanent resident are among six departing Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on a government-chartered flight to Perth, the state capital of Western Australia, with medical staff monitoring en route. A New Zealand citizen is included, with cost-sharing talks ongoing.

The group will be transferred to the Bullsbrook quarantine facility. Butler noted that this covers part of hantavirus’s incubation period of up to 42 days. Further advice from the chief health officers will determine whether the quarantine period will be extended beyond three weeks.

The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife on Sunday. Those onboard had been confined to cabins to limit transmission.

Hantavirus spreads through contact with infected rodents and can cause severe respiratory or kidney complications. Australia has reported no previous human cases.

"The risk of hantavirus to the Australian and global population remains low," the Australian Centre for Disease Control said in a statement on Friday. 

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA