A number of cases have been seen in Scotland in the past, involving a different type of hantavirus which can only be transmitted from rodents.
Thomson said the highly specialised genetic research at the CVR provides a huge advantage in diagnosing all existing and emerging viruses, as well as being on the front foot on how to treat them.
“If we had someone in hospital with a severe respiratory infection, high fever and we didn’t know the cause, it would be possible for us to sequence a virus within a matter of three or four hours, even a previously unknown virus,” Thomson said.
But those on the cruise ship did not have access to this kind of science quickly enough.
“Those sorts of sequencing methodologies are not available everywhere,” she added.
“Unfortunately it took quite a long period of time before the first case and the [hantavirus] diagnosis, around about a month.
“That means that the virus will have had more chance to spread, unfortunately, to other passengers on the ship.
“It was sort of the throw of the dice.”
