A Western Cape resident who showed flu-like symptoms after possible exposure to a hantavirus patient has tested negative. South African health authorities are monitoring 97 close contacts following an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius.
The National Department of Health confirmed the negative result on Monday for the passenger who travelled on a flight from St Helena Island to Johannesburg. Officials raised the number of people under observation from 62 to 97.
The outbreak began aboard the MV Hondius after an elderly Dutch couple boarded the vessel in Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 April. The man died on the ship on 11 April and his wife died in a Johannesburg hospital on 26 April. Both cases were linked to the Andes virus.
Additional confirmed infections include the ship’s doctor, a guide, a British passenger, and a Swiss traveller. Passengers were evacuated and repatriated over the weekend. Argentinian officials dispute that the couple contracted the virus in Ushuaia.
