An infectious disease specialist has called on Hong Kong authorities to step up rodent checks, despite confirmation that no residents from the city were on board the hantavirus-hit cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Speaking on an RTHK programme on Friday, physician and infectious disease specialist Dr Joseph Tsang said the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) should conduct regular monitoring of rats.

“The AFCD should conduct regular monitoring to test whether rats in the environment carry viruses,” he said.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) previously issued a statement on Thursday, saying there were no Hong Kong residents on the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, which carried 147 passengers and crew members.

The CHP also said that, as of Wednesday, no infections had been reported in Hong Kong.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Thursday, there were eight reported cases linked to the MV Hondius, including three deaths. Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus.

‘Cannot let our guard down’

Hantavirus is primarily transmitted through direct contact with the faeces, saliva or urine of infected rodents, or by inhaling aerosolised particles of their waste, according to the CHP. Human-to-human transmission is relatively rare, and there is currently no vaccine to prevent infection.

The risk to global health posed by the cruise ship incident is low, the CHP added, citing the WHO.

Tsang said that, despite the low risk, he still urged cleaners to be aware of the dangers.

“I wouldn’t say the risk of infection in Hong Kong is especially high, but we cannot let our guard down,” the physician said.

“Hantavirus is usually concentrated in places with more rats, such as refuse collection points, rear stairwells, or the back alleys of restaurants. Sanitation workers should take particular care.”

A New Zealand passenger from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship is in hospital quarantine in Taiwan, Taiwanese health authorities said Friday.

The person, who has tested negative for the rare disease and is showing no symptoms, arrived in Taiwan on May 7 after disembarking the cruise ship in Saint Helena on April 24.

Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was informed by New Zealand authorities on Wednesday that the person was in Taiwan, CDC spokeswoman Tseng Shu-hui told AFP.

The person was admitted to hospital the same day and will remain there until June 6, Tseng said.

Tseng declined to provide details about the person’s age, gender or current location in Taiwan.

“At present, we believe their probability of developing the disease is relatively low,” Tseng said.

“Their last exposure with the other passengers was on the 25th (of April), which is about 20 days ago.”

See also: Hong Kong urged to step up rodent checks despite no local residents on hantavirus-hit cruise ship

The virus has a potential incubation period of 42 days.

CDC director-general Lo Yi-chun told reporters that the person did not return to New Zealand after leaving the cruise ship, but he would not provide information on the route they took to Taiwan.

New Zealand’s de facto embassy in Taipei declined to comment.

Health authorities have repeatedly emphasised that the broader risk to public health from the outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus — the only one known to spread between people — is low.

Globally, the death toll remains at three.

The ship set sail from Argentina on April 1, charting a course across the Atlantic Ocean.

No vaccines or specific treatments exist, but health officials have said the risk is low and have dismissed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic.