4 Canadians still on hantavirus cruise ship to meet with consular officials

Consular officials are on their way to the Canary Islands to meet with four Canadians on board a deadly hantavirus-stricken cruise ship.

The federal government says three people with connections to the cruise are isolating at home in Ontario and Quebec, but they aren’t showing symptoms.

Officials have not said when and where the affected people arrived in Canada, or whether public health officials would brief the media.

Spanish authorities are prepared to receive more than 140 asymptomatic passengers and crew who have been isolating on the boat when it docks this weekend in Granadilla, Tenerife.

The World Health Organization has said it has received reports of eight cases, including three deaths, from the outbreak of the rodent-borne Andes virus on the MV Hondius.

They say that while more cases are possible in the coming weeks, hantaviruses do not spread easily between people, and the outbreak will likely not turn into an epidemic.