Two Singapore residents isolated at NCID after hantavirus exposure on cruise and flight, risk to public currently low: CDA

Both men had disembarked from the ship and were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on Apr 25, said CDA, adding that the confirmed case did not travel to Singapore and has since died in South Africa.

As of Wednesday, eight cases including three deaths have been linked to the cluster on the cruise ship. Three of the cases were confirmed to be infected with hantavirus, and the rest are under investigation.

CDA said the World Health Organization (WHO) currently assesses the risk to the global population as low.

PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES FOR RETURNEES TO SINGAPORE

Should the two Singapore residents currently isolated at NCID test negative for hantavirus, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure.

This is because the majority of hantavirus cases are expected to become symptomatic within this period, said CDA.

“Testing will be conducted again before release from quarantine, and they will then undergo phone surveillance for the remaining monitoring period of 45 days from the date of last exposure, which is the maximum incubation period for hantavirus exposure.”

If they test positive for hantavirus, they will remain hospitalised for monitoring and treatment, given the potential severity of hantavirus infection.

“Contact tracing will be conducted to identify persons who have been exposed during the infectious period, and close contacts will be quarantined,” said the agency.