JOHANNESBURG, May 6 - South African health officials have confirmed the presence of the Andes strain of hantavirus in two individuals who fell ill after traveling on the cruise vessel MV Hondius, a presentation to parliament by the health ministry shows.
Laboratory testing conducted by South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) identified the Andes strain as the cause of infection in a Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg and in a British man who remains hospitalized. Both patients became unwell while on the cruise ship.
The MV Hondius was preparing to continue a voyage from Cape Verde toward Europe after receiving permission from Spanish authorities to call at a port in the Canary Islands. The confirmation of the Andes strain followed diagnostic work reported to lawmakers and seen by Reuters.
The health ministry presentation emphasized that the Andes strain is the only hantavirus subtype known to be capable of human-to-human transmission. It noted, however, that such transmission is very uncommon and occurs primarily in contexts of very close personal contact between people.
Other hantavirus strains, the presentation reiterated, are typically transmitted to people through direct contact with infected rodents or with rodent excreta - including urine, droppings or saliva - rather than between infected humans.
The information provided to parliament did not expand on the number of additional contacts traced, the nature of the close contacts under investigation, or the broader epidemiological picture beyond the two confirmed cases on the ship. Officials also did not provide further clinical details beyond the death and the ongoing hospitalization.
Health authorities have highlighted the rarity of human-to-human spread of hantavirus even with the Andes strain, stressing that transmission events documented to date have been uncommon and typically linked to very close proximity between infected and susceptible individuals.
Summary of facts:
- The Andes strain of hantavirus was confirmed by NICD testing in two people who fell ill on the MV Hondius.
- A Dutch woman died in Johannesburg; a British man remains in hospital.
- The MV Hondius was preparing to sail from Cape Verde to Europe after Spanish permission to dock in the Canary Islands.
- Andes is the only hantavirus strain known to spread person-to-person, but such transmission is very rare and requires very close contact; other strains are typically spread via infected rodents or their excreta.