Singapore residents cleared of hantavirus

Two Singapore residents, a 67-year-old Singaporean and a 65-year-old Singapore permanent resident, were released from quarantine on June 6 after testing negative for hantavirus. They had been monitored for 42 days by the International — European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control>>> (CDA) at the Singapore — National Centre for Infectious Diseases>>> (NCID) after returning to Singapore>>>. Their exposure occurred on April 25 during a flight from Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha — Saint Helena>>> to South Africa — Johannesburg>>> (South Africa>>>), which they shared with a confirmed hantavirus case. Prior to this, they were on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which departed from Argentina — Ushuaia>>> (Argentina>>>) on April 1 and disembarked at Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha — Saint Helena>>> on April 24. The World Health Organization>>> (WHO) reported 13 confirmed cases and three deaths linked to the outbreak as of May 27, primarily involving the Andes virus strain. The MV Hondius was cleared to sail again on May 30 after cleaning and disinfection. The CDA shortened its monitoring period from 45 to 42 days based on WHO guidelines.