The World Health Organization said it is tracing passengers who travelled on an April 25 Airlink flight from St Helena to Johannesburg after a cruise ship passenger later died from hantavirus, in a case linked to a broader outbreak aboard the expedition vessel MV Hondius. Airlink said 82 passengers and six crew members were on the flight. According to the WHO, the woman — a 69-year-old Dutch passenger — left the ship on April 24 with gastrointestinal symptoms and flew to South Africa the next day after disembarking on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena. She died on April 26 shortly after arriving at a Johannesburg hospital, and tests on May 4 confirmed hantavirus. South African authorities have asked the airline to notify all passengers on the flight to contact health officials.
The case is part of a suspected hantavirus cluster aboard the MV Hondius, which WHO says may involve the rare possibility of person-to-person transmission. As of May 4, WHO reported two confirmed and five suspected cases linked to the ship. Three people have died: a Dutch man, his wife and a German passenger. The vessel was anchored off Cape Verde as health authorities assessed the situation.
St Helena’s government said some passengers from the ship came ashore between April 22 and 24, and a small number of residents are being advised to self-isolate as a precaution. Officials stressed that no cases had been identified on the island and said there was no significant cause for concern at this stage. WHO has said the risk to the wider public remains low, but the tracing effort reflects the caution surrounding a virus that can be severe and, in rare circumstances, fatal.
