Airport staff, passengers undergo 6-week observation for hantavirus in SA
A woman carrying the hantavirus deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg on April 25.
Image: File
Contact tracing for those who interacted with a woman who collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport and the man currently hospitalised in Johannesburg with hantavirus is under way and includes airport and hospital staff, and those involved in transporting or admitting the patients.
During a briefing yesterday to the Portfolio Committee on Health, former National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) deputy director and senior consultant, Professor Lucille Blumberg, said within 24 hours of being alerted of the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, the country had confirmed hantavirus.
Some of the passengers had experienced serious health complications while the ship was travelling past South African shores, arising from what was initially considered severe acute respiratory infections.
As a result, a British national was transported to a hospital in Johannesburg on April 27 where he is currently in ICU.
A 69-year-old woman, who attempted to catch a connecting flight from OR Tambo back home to the Netherlands on April 25, collapsed due to hantavirus infection, after he husband died the day before.
Blumberg said they confirmed the diagnosis in South Africa and they had the specimens of the patient who was admitted.
Diagnosis was confirmed using a routine blood count specimen from the woman who collapsed.
Blumberg said contact tracing began on Saturday for all contacts of the cases at OR Tambo International Airport, the hospital near the airport, and those involved in transporting or admitting the British national.
Contact monitoring for fever was initiated before the illness was identified and is progressing well, she said.
Due to the six-week incubation period, monitoring will continue, with plans to re-identify high-risk contacts for intensified observation.
“I think as a country, we’ve done extremely well, and I want to pay tribute to the NICD team, some of whom are the new director, and particularly our laboratory,” Blumberg said.
The swift and effective response by the Department of Health and the NICD in identifying and managing the unusual hantavirus outbreak has drawn significant praise from the Portfolio Committee on Health members, who yesterday commended the team’s vigilance and quick action in diagnosing a rare pathogen.
Committee member Dr Karl Willem du Pré le Roux called the response “extremely impressive”, saying that to find the virus was like a needle in a haystack.
He said this shows the country has excellent systems in place, but noted that not all viruses that enter the country can be detected.
“I do want to just really commend the team and Prof Blumberg for actually finding this virus… I just want to recognise that and say thank you to the team for the vigilance and the quick action,” Le Roux said.
Philippus Adriaan van Staden thanked the health sector for the effective tracing and response.
However, he emphasised the need for consistent public communication, highlighting that a major error during the Covid-19 pandemic was the initial lack of clear information and awareness.
“I would ask that effective communication from the department and from the minister, if possible, be communicated to the public daily,” Van Staden said.
Committee chairperson Faith Muthambi said the response was heartwarming and the team had to be commended, as it helped prevent panic.
She said the team must continue to inform the public about lab results and contact tracing progress, while reassuring South Africans of the country’s limited exposure.