LISTEN | Why you must not worry about contracting hantavirus

The national department of health and experts have urged the public not to panic over the fears of possibly contracting hantavirus as it is not “easily” transmitted from human to human.

This comes after two passengers, husband and wife, died after allegedly contracting hantavirus while on international cruise ship travelling to Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa.

The wife died at a hospital in Kempton Park after collapsing at OR Tambo International Airport trying to return home to the Netherlands following her husband’s death.

A third person who was also on the ship is in hospital getting treatment.

According to Foster Mohale from the department of health, as well as former chairperson of SA Medical Association Dr Angelique Coetzee, there is no need for South Africans to panic or worry about possibly contracting the virus.

Coetzee said hantavirus is not a human-to-human-spread virus like flu, and for it to spread in the form of human contact is extremely rare.

“It is not considered as person-to-person-spreading virus. It is mainly transmitted from the rodents, so [one] gets it by breathing in those particles from the rodents droppings or the urine,” she said. “So the risk to the general public is very low.”

According to Coetzee, symptoms of having contracted the virus include flu-like symptoms, muscle aches and fatigue. Severe symptom affect the lungs and cause breathing difficulties, she said.

The situation at the cruise ship is most likely an isolated case rather than a widespread outbreak, said Coetzee.

“Avoid contact with rodents and their droppings and when you clean areas where rodents might have been, do not sweep or vacuum dry, rather dampen the area with disinfections, use gloves and ensure good ventilation,” she added.

Prof Shabir Madhi, professor of vaccinology and the director of SA medical Research council, shared the same sentiments as Coetzee.

“There is no need for South Africans to worry as the virus does not transmit through close contact. [One would be mainly] infected if exposed to droppings of rodents.”

According to Mohale, the ship had 150 tourists from various countries and had departed from Ushuaia in South of Argentina about three weeks ago.

The first incident recorded was of a 70-year-old male passenger who suddenly became ill in the ship en route from Ushuaia to St Helena Island. He encountered headache fever, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. He later died and his remains will be repatriated to Netherlands, Mohale said.

His spouse collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport while trying to connect a flight back to Netherlands. She was taken to a nearby health facility in Kempton Park for medical attention and unfortunately passed away. Laboratory test results are outstanding.

The third person is a British national who fell ill on en route from St Helena to Ascension. Despite medical treatment being provided to him, his condition did not improve, which then necessitated him to be sent to a private hospital in Sandton. His lab results tested positive for hantavirus. “The patient is in a critical condition,” he said.

Mohale said the department is working with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the Gauteng department of health to conduct contact tracing to stop potential spread of the virus and monitoring individuals who may have been exposed to the infected persons.

“The World Health Organisation is coordinating a multi-country response with all affected islands and the countries to contain further spread of the disease,” Mohale added.

According to Coetzee, what the government will do is “exposure crisis” where they trace the contact, not because people infect one another.

It is done because they shared the same environment or exposure source, like a contaminated cabin or a rodent-infested area.

“It is also not spread with blood contact like Ebola. Even in very severe cases, person-to-person spread is not typical.“

Coetzee said when a person has been infected they are isolated because it’s more of a precautionary and protective reason, not because the virus spreads that easily.

Sowetan