The national department of health has confirmed that it has traced 91 out of 97 identified people who may have had exposure to a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship on which there was an outbreak of Andes hantavirus a month ago.
Health spokesperson Foster Mohale said the identified contacts include cruise ship and Airlink flight passengers, ambulance personnel, flight crew, medical crew, airport and port health officials, healthcare workers and security and cleaning staff.
Authorities monitor exposed contacts
“All contacts will be monitored in accordance with public health protocols for a six-week period to check if they are not developing symptoms,” he said.
Mohale said the British patient who was airlifted to Johannesburg remains in hospital in critical condition, but is clinically and gradually improving.
Mohale said that a Dutch woman who has since died was on the Airlink flight from St Helena with 82 passengers and six crew members.
According to data captured by Kimberly Panozzo from the University of Toledo in the US, three deaths have been reported from the outbreak, with eight cases confirmed and seven other suspected.
The deceased include a German passenger on MV Hondius and two Dutch nationals. The husband died first onboard and the wife later in Joburg.
Experts say risk remains low
Dr Angelique Coetzee said at this stage, there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human spread of hantavirus in South Africa, which is why public health authorities are not responding with the same level of concern as with Covid.
“The main transmission route remains exposure to infected rodent urine, droppings, saliva, or contaminated dust particles.
“That said, health authorities still take every suspected or confirmed case seriously, especially in situations like the MV Hondius outbreak, because hantaviruses can cause severe illness and investigators need to determine where exposure occurred, whether others may have had the same exposure and whether there is any possibility of rare person-to-person transmission,” she said.
Coetzee said track-and-trace in hantavirus investigations therefore focuses less on containment of the outbreak and more on identifying shared environmental exposure, monitoring close contacts for symptoms and protecting healthcare workers.
Public urged not to panic
“Contacts are usually advised to monitor themselves for fever, muscle pain, cough, shortness of breath, nausea or flu-like symptoms for several weeks, seek medical care early if symptoms develop, avoid exposure to rodents or contaminated environments and, in some situations, use masks and protective equipment during cleaning, or when dealing with potentially contaminated material,” she said.
Coetzee added that routine isolation of all contacts is generally not required for most hantavirus strains, as the virus is typically not easily transmitted from person to person.
“However, hospitals may still use isolation precautions for confirmed patients, particularly in severe cases with bleeding or respiratory involvement, partly out of caution and partly because the exact strain may initially be unknown,” she said.
Coetzee said healthcare workers typically use gloves, gowns, masks and eye protection, especially during procedures involving respiratory secretions.
“The public should remain informed, but not panic. Hantavirus infections are rare and the main preventive step is avoiding exposure to rodent-infested environments.”
