The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has confirmed a case of hantavirus in a cruise passenger currently isolating in British Columbia following laboratory testing.

PHAC said in a statement on Sunday that samples from British Columbia were sent to the agency's National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg for confirmatory testing.

According to the agency, one individual's sample was confirmed positive for hantavirus on Saturday. A second individual, a travelling partner of the confirmed case, was confirmed negative, Xinhua news agency reported.

No additional cases have been identified so far. PHAC said all high-risk contacts are isolating and will continue to be closely monitored by local public health authorities, adding that the overall risk to the general population in Canada remains low at this time.

The outbreak occurred aboard the polar expedition cruise ship MV Hondius and has resulted in three deaths so far. The incubation period for hantavirus generally ranges from one to eight weeks.

Earlier, health authorities in Canada's British Columbia province announced that a Canadian cruise passenger currently in isolation has tested presumptive positive for hantavirus

Source:Ndtv