‘Healthy and asymptomatic’: Indian Embassy says crew members evacuated from hantavirus-hit MV Hondius are safe

The Indian Embassy in Spain on Sunday said the two Indian crew members onboard the hantavirus-hit Dutch cruise vessel MV Hondius are "healthy and asymptomatic" and have been evacuated to the Netherlands for quarantine under health safety protocols. In a statement, the embassy said the Dutch-flagged vessel carrying around 150 people, including two Indian nationals, had arrived in Spain after anchoring off the Canary Islands following the hantavirus outbreak onboard. "The 02 Indian nationals are healthy and asymptomatic. As informed by the Spanish National Center for Emergency Monitoring and Coordination (CENEM), the 02 Indian nationals who were travelling as crew members, have been evacuated to the Netherlands where they will be quarantined as per relevant health safety protocol," the embassy said. The embassy added that the Indian Ambassador was in close contact with Spanish authorities and the Indian nationals and was regularly monitoring the situation to ensure their safety and well-being. Passengers onboard the vessel disembarked in accordance with protocols laid down by the World Health Organization and Spanish authorities, the statement said. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization issued a technical note regarding the disembarkation and management of passengers and crew linked to the outbreak. The WHO advised member states to "Implement a risk-based approach to the identification, monitoring, and management of contacts of probable or confirmed Andes virus (ANDV) cases from the MV Hondius cruise ship and related to the event on that cruise ship. ANDV has been associated with limited human-to-human transmission, usually associated with close and prolonged contact." According to the WHO, eight hantavirus cases, including three deaths, had been reported as of May 8. Six of the cases were laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus infections. In India, health experts sought to ease concerns over the outbreak involving the two Indian crew members. Dr Naveen Kumar, Director of the ICMR-National Institute of Virology in Pune, said the cases did not indicate community spread in India. "At present, the reported infections among Indian nationals aboard a cruise ship appear to be isolated imported cases and do not indicate community spread in India. Since hantavirus transmission is primarily rodent-borne and not easily spread between humans, the immediate public health risk remains low," he said. Dr Kumar also noted that human-to-human transmission of hantavirus remains extremely rare.