Australians and New Zealand citizen learn results of virus test

The four Australian citizens, one permanent resident and one New Zealander who is in quarantine for three weeks at the Bullsbrook Center for National Resilience in Western Australia, received their blood test results today.

The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed that they were doing well and would only be tested again if they developed symptoms.

The passengers were exposed to the Andean variant of the virus when a couple boarded their cruise after visiting parts of Argentina and Chile, where a species of rat that carries the disease lives.

The federal government said the health and safety of the community and the well-being of cruise passengers remain its priority.

Canada recorded its first case of the virus today. One of the four Canadians on board the ship was diagnosed after developing mild symptoms.

Local authorities said the group had not come into contact with the public and the infected patient was in stable condition.

Three people died after contracting Hantavirus on the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius, sparking a global effort to evacuate and quarantine dozens of passengers and crew.

Rats carry the hantavirus, but the World Health Organization said it believed the Andean strain was capable of human-to-human transmission.

It was the first case of a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler previously said the government was taking a precautionary approach and stressed that human-to-human transmission of the virus was extremely rare.

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