Health tests underway in Amsterdam after flight attendant shows possible hantavirus symptoms

Amsterdam hospitalisation sparks investigation into possible hantavirus exposure. A flight attendant has been hospitalised in Amsterdam after showing possible symptoms of hantavirus, prompting health officials to carry out further testing. Dutch health ministry spokesperson Mischa Stubenitsky said the woman was receiving medical care while doctors conducted examinations to determine whether she had contracted the virus.

The airline employee has reportedly been in contact with a Dutch passenger who was taken off a KLM flight in Johannesburg shortly before departure and later died fromhantavirusin 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 Motsoaledihas 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.

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“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 fromrodentsto 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.”

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