May 8 (Reuters) - Two Singaporean residents who were onboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested negative for the virus, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said on Friday.
The CDA's National Public Health Laboratory conducted testing on multiple samples collected from the individuals and confirmed that hantavirus, including the Andes virus, was not detected, it said.
Countries worldwide are tracking passengers on the virus-hit ship to prevent further spread of the hantavirus. Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - have died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius, while eight people are believed to have contracted the virus.
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.
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The two residents of Singapore, men aged 67 and 65, were isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. They were onboard the MV Hondius when it departed from the Argentinian port of Ushuaia on April 1, the CDA said in a statement on Thursday.
As a precaution, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure and will undergo further testing before being released. They will then be monitored through phone surveillance for the remainder of a 45-day period, the maximum incubation period for hantavirus exposure.
"The risk to the general public in Singapore remains low," the agency said, adding it was closely monitoring the situation.
Both had disembarked from the ship and were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on April 25. The confirmed case did not travel to Singapore and has since passed away in South Africa, the agency said.
(Reporting by Fabiola Arámburo in Mexico City and Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Anil D'Silva)