A KLM flight attendant from Haarlem has been hospitalized after potentially being exposed to hantavirus. She had contact with a 69-year-old Dutch woman who died from the virus in Johannesburg.
The flight attendant is currently being kept in isolation at Amsterdam UMC. According to reports, she is only experiencing mild symptoms so far.
Health officials confirmed that she’s now being tested for hantavirus.
The Dutch woman who died had been briefly on board a KLM flight at O.R. Tambo International Airport on April 25.
After boarding, airline staff noticed that she was unwell and asked her to leave the plane.
The flight later left for Amsterdam that same night, and the now-hospitalized flight attendant had been working onboard that plane.
Dutch health authorities are now trying to get into contact with everyone who was on that flight. They are also advising passengers to monitor themselves for possible symptoms.
According to health officials, hantavirus symptoms can take anywhere from a few days to as long as two months to appear, though most people start showing signs within a few weeks.
The outbreak itself appears to be connected to the cruise ship Hondius.
So far, three passengers have died, including the Dutch woman and her husband.
Her husband had also died earlier this month after becoming sick onboard the ship.
At first, it was believed to be some kind of respiratory illness.
The situation escalated after another passenger, a British national being treated in intensive care in Johannesburg, tested positive for hantavirus.
After that result came back, the Dutch woman was also tested posthumously and was confirmed to have the same virus.
Officials said both cases involved the rare Andes strain of hantavirus, which is unusual because it can spread from person to person.
The most common type of hantavirus is normally transmitted via rodent urine or droppings instead.
According to the World Health Organization, there are now seven confirmed hantavirus cases tied to the Hondius outbreak, including the three deaths.
Health authorities are now working to safely remove the remaining passengers from the ship.
Three people were evacuated earlier this week; two arrived Wednesday night and were taken to hospitals in Leiden and Düsseldorf, while another passenger landed Thursday morning.
One of the evacuated patients in Düsseldorf is believed to be a 65-year-old German woman related to one of the people who died. Emergency officials said she was stable and not showing symptoms.
Another patient, a British crew member named Martin Anstee, was taken to Leiden University Medical Center. So far, he has showed no symptoms but remain in isolation.
A third passenger, believed to be a 41-year-old Dutch man, arrived at Schiphol Airport on Thursday morning and was met by ambulances.
Officials haven’t shared where he’s being treated.
Meanwhile, the British passenger who first tested positive remains in intensive care in South Africa.
A Swiss national with symptoms was also hospitalized in Zurich, while that person’s partner is self-isolating just to be on the safe side.
Around 150 people are still onboard the Hondius, including about 10 Dutch passengers. The ship left the coast of Cape Verde and is currently heading toward Tenerife, where it’s expected to arrive on Saturday.
Passengers who are not showing symptoms are expected to disembark once the ship docks.
