Cruise ship MV Hondius docks off Cape Verde port, as passengers were not allowed off the ship, while health authorities investigated suspected cases of hantavirus aboard the vessel.

WHO traces 88 flight passengers who travelled with Hantavirus-infected flier

WHO is tracing passengers on a Saint Helena to Johannesburg flight after a cruise ship traveller died of hantavirus. The effort follows concerns that fellow passengers and others on the journey may have been exposed.

by · India Today

In Short

  • The deceased traveller boarded a cruise vessel before flying to South Africa
  • WHO said officials are identifying people exposed during the connecting journey
  • The flight under scrutiny operated between Saint Helena and Johannesburg

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was tracing 88 passengers who travelled on a flight between the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena and Johannesburg after a co-flier, who was evacuated from a cruise ship after being infected with hantavirus, later died from the rare but potentially fatal viral disease.

According to the WHO, the passenger had travelled aboard a cruise vessel before boarding the flight from Saint Helena to South Africa. Health authorities are now working to identify and contact fellow passengers and others who may have been exposed during the journey.

- Ends