The chain of contact extending from the cruise ship to aviation has put health authorities on alert
The hantavirus outbreak that began on the MV Hondius cruise ship has now reached a KLM cabin crew member. The crew member, who came into contact with a passenger, was hospitalized, while international contact tracing has been expanded on the ship where three deaths have been confirmed.
A cabin crew member was hospitalized with a suspected hantavirus infection after coming into contact with one of the ill MV Hondius cruise ship passengers who later died.
The unidentified KLM flight attendant was placed in isolation at a hospital in Amsterdam on Wednesday night for testing. Dutch news outlet RTL Nieuws reported the development.
The flight attendant had brief contact with an elderly Dutch passenger who was considered too ill to fly. The passenger later collapsed at the airport and subsequently died.
Health authorities stated that the cabin crew member was taken from her home in Haarlem, the Netherlands, by medical teams after showing mild symptoms.
The KLM employee had been in contact with the Dutch woman who was evacuated from the ship following the death of her 70-year-old husband during the outbreak.
The 69-year-old woman, who had fallen ill, was transferred from the ship to Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 25, approximately two weeks after her husband’s death, so that she could return to the Netherlands for treatment.
The airline stated that the woman briefly boarded a KLM flight but was removed from the aircraft due to her deteriorating health condition.
A KLM spokesperson said, “Due to the passenger’s health condition at the time, the crew decided not to allow the passenger to continue the flight.”
The elderly woman collapsed at the airport and died a day later at a nearby hospital.
Passengers on the KLM flight, which later departed as scheduled, were reportedly informed by Dutch health authorities.
So far, three people — a Dutch couple and a German national — have died in the outbreak on board the MV Hondius.
Three ill individuals, including former British police officer Martin Anstee, were evacuated from the ship on Wednesday by teams wearing biohazard suits.
The vessel, which has been stranded for days off Cape Verde in West Africa with around 150 people on board, is heading toward Spain so that the remaining passengers can be evacuated.
Countries around the world, including the United States, are attempting to identify individuals who left the cruise ship before the outbreak emerged.
It has been confirmed that the virus identified in the victims is the Andes (Andean) strain, which can be transmitted between humans through very close contact.
The virus is generally spread through inhalation of rodent droppings.
Although experts emphasize that human-to-human transmission is extremely rare and requires very close contact, the outbreak has placed health authorities on high alert.
