(SeaPRwire) –   Canadian health officials confirmed on Sunday that one of four Canadians who had returned from the MV Hondius cruise ship—the center of an international Andes hantavirus outbreak—tested positive for hantavirus. Three individuals linked to the outbreak have died.

The Public Health Agency of Canada verified the diagnosis after British Columbia’s chief public health officer initially described it as a “presumptive positive” case.

“One individual’s sample has been confirmed positive for hantavirus,” the agency stated.

Officials indicated that further testing would be conducted at a national laboratory, though it was unclear at the time whether this would be for confirmation, strain analysis, or another purpose.

This update comes as global health authorities continue monitoring the rare hantavirus outbreak associated with the MV Hondius, which has affected multiple passengers.

As of May 13, the World Health Organization reported 11 cases connected to the cruise outbreak: eight confirmed, two probable, and one inconclusive. Among them were three fatalities. The Associated Press later noted that Canada’s confirmation raised the total number of ship passengers who tested positive to 10.

Four Canadians had traveled on the MV Hondius and returned home, but only one has tested positive for the virus.

The confirmed patient and their traveling companion—a couple in their 70s from Yukon—had returned together. Officials confirmed the companion later tested negative.

A third person in their 70s from Vancouver Island remains isolated, along with a British Columbia resident in their 50s.

No confirmed U.S. cases related to the cruise ship have been reported so far. However, as of May 13, the WHO said one U.S.-repatriated passenger had inconclusive lab results and was undergoing retesting.

Last week, health officials in Ontario County, New York, announced they were investigating a suspected locally acquired hantavirus case unrelated to the cruise ship.

The Ontario County Public Health Department emphasized there was no risk to the general public and noted that the strain commonly seen in the United States does not spread from person to person.

The outbreak tied to the MV Hondius began after the Dutch cruise ship, carrying 147 passengers and crew, departed Argentina on April 1 for a South Atlantic journey.

The incident has prompted heightened precautions internationally, including in the Netherlands, where Radboud University Medical Center placed 12 staff members under quarantine after authorities found that blood and urine samples from a hantavirus patient had not been handled according to the strictest recommended protocols for the virus strain.

The outbreak has also drawn comparisons to the coronavirus pandemic. However, senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Digital that there is “no comparison.”

He explained that hantavirus is difficult to transmit.

“It’s not airborne … in terms of respiratory droplets hanging in the air,” he said. “Transmission is very difficult.”

While the coronavirus “moved in the direction of humans in a significant way,” hantavirus has not—except for “very rare” instances of human-to-human transmission, he added.

The World Health Organization assesses the overall risk to the global population as low. However, current evidence suggests possible subsequent human-to-human transmission occurred aboard the ship. The Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to have documented person-to-person transmission, though such spread remains uncommon.

Siegel also pointed out that hantavirus cases have been recorded in the United States for decades, though they remain “very rare.”

Contributions to this report were made by Digital’s Brittany Miller and Angelica Stabile, along with The Associated Press.