Flight attendant in Amsterdam tested for hantavirus following Johannesburg incident
Amsterdam hospitalisation sparks investigation into possible hantavirus exposure.
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A flight attendant has been hospitalised in Amsterdam with possible hantavirus symptoms, prompting health officials to conduct further testing.
Dutch health ministry spokesperson Mischa Stubenitsky confirmed that she is receiving medical care while doctors assess whether she contracted the virus.
The airline employee has reportedly been in contact with the Dutch passenger who was taken off a KLM flight in Johannesburg shortly before departure and later died from hantavirus in South Africa.
Hantavirus infections are typically linked to exposure to infected rodents or their droppings, with cases reported sporadically across parts of Europe, Asia and the Americas.
The virus is not considered contagious between people in most circumstances, and infections usually occur through inhalation of contaminated particles in enclosed or poorly ventilated environments.
Closer to home, health minister Aaron Motsoaledi has called on South Africans to remain calm following the confirmation of hantavirus cases linked to international cruise ship passengers, saying the disease is already well understood by health authorities and is not spreading broadly within the country.
Addressing Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Health on Wednesday, Motsoaledi acknowledged that public anxiety was expected in light of the Covid-19 experience but he emphasised that the current situation is not comparable to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I am painfully aware that members of the public are very worried because they are thinking of the scary days of the Covid-19 virus.
"But remember that the Covid-19 virus just fell on us without anybody suspecting anything. This particular one is a well-known virus," he said.
He added that hantavirus is mainly passed from rodents to people through exposure to infected urine, faeces or saliva, and stressed that transmission between humans is exceptionally rare.
"There must be very close person-to-person contact, very, very close person-to-person contact for transmission to occur from one human to the other."
Meanwhile, health officials in Switzerland have issued a serious warning after a man came back from a cruise in South America infected with hantavirus.
The unnamed patient is now fighting the infection the Andes strain, a variant known for rare human-to-human transmission.
Health officials from Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) confirmed development.
"One person with a hantavirus infection is currently being treated at the University Hospital Zurich (USZ)."
The man had been travelling with his wife on the MV Hondius and returned to Switzerland at the end of April.
Three people have died from the virus, with one in critical condition in a Sandton hospital.
After noticing symptoms, he contacted his doctor before being rushed for further checks, where he was immediately isolated.