The national Department of Health says there is no reason to panic about a family of viruses that can cause serious illness and death.

This comes after the department confirmed that a British national is receiving medical care at a private health facility in Sandton. According to an SAnews article, the patient was a passenger aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was travelling to the Canary Islands via Cape Verde from Argentina.

“His laboratory test results came back positive for hantavirus – a rare but potentially deadly virus transmitted primarily by rodents. The patient is still in critical condition in isolation but receiving medical attention,” the department stated.

Cruise ship journey and medical evacuation

“The ship was carrying some 150 passengers and went past several islands, including mainland Antarctica, Falklands, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan, St Helena and Ascension,” reports SAnews, adding that medical treatment was provided to him at Ascension, but that his medical evacuation to the South African facility was necessitated after his condition did not improve.

What is hantavirus?

According to a Communicable Diseases Communiqué published by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in 2021, hantavirus represents a group of viruses found in rodents that cause chronic infection, but with little clinical significance to the rodents.

“Transmission of hantavirus to humans occurs through contact with the urine, saliva or faeces from infected rodents, mainly via the aerosol route during activities such as sweeping. Limited human-to-human transmission has been described in very rare cases. Viruses are endemic to rodents across the Americas, Europe and Asia and are found mainly in rural areas,” it reads.

2 deaths reported among passengers

Meanwhile, the department confirmed that a couple on board the cruise ship also experienced medical difficulties. It was initially believed that the complications were due to severe acute respiratory infections.

“[The] first patient was a 70-year-old male passenger who suddenly became ill on the ship en route from Ushuaia to St Helena Island, and presented with fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Unfortunately, he passed away on arrival at St Helena Island. His mortal remains are in St Helena, awaiting repatriation to the Netherlands,” says the department.

According to the statement, the man’s 69-year-old wife collapsed at the OR Tambo International Airport while trying to connect with a flight to the Netherlands.

“She was taken to a nearby health facility around Kempton Park for medical attention and, unfortunately, passed away. Laboratory test results for the patient are outstanding,” the department explained.

Contact tracing underway

The department, NICD and Gauteng Department of Health are conducting contact tracing to ‘stop potential spread of the virus by identifying and monitoring individuals who may have been exposed to the infected persons’. “In our view, there is no need for the public to panic because only two patients from the cruise ship have been within our borders. The World Health Organisation is co-ordinating a multi-country response with all affected islands and countries to contain further spread of the disease.”

Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel.

Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.