A crew member from the Dutch cruise ship Hondius who had been in home quarantine in the Netherlands has tested positive for hantavirus, the World Health Organisation said on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the outbreak to 12.
The person, who has not been named, was among the passengers and crew evacuated from the ship in Tenerife earlier this month and repatriated to the Netherlands.
Public health institute RIVM said the crew member has now been admitted to hospital as a precaution.
The new case is not among the 27 people on board the Hondius when it docked in Rotterdam this week, all of whom tested negative. The crew member had close contact with infected passengers on the ship, RIVM said.
WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said in a briefing on Friday that no deaths have been reported since the outbreak was first notified to the agency on May 2. More than 600 contacts in 30 countries are still being monitored.
The Andes virus has an incubation period of up to six weeks, meaning further cases are still possible among the 122 passengers and crew repatriated to their home countries earlier this month, who remain in quarantine.
