HANTAVIRUS: WHO Urges Passengers on Airlink Flight from St. Helena to Contact Health Authorities Immediately

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an urgent call for all passengers and crew who flew on Airlink flight 4Z132 from St. Helena to Johannesburg on April 25 to contact local health authorities immediately due to hantavirus concerns.

The flight carried 82 passengers and 6 crew members. One passenger, a 69-year-old Dutch woman who had disembarked from the hantavirus-affected cruise ship MV Hondius, became severely ill during the roughly four-hour flight and died the following day in a Johannesburg hospital. Her infection was later confirmed by PCR testing.

Why the Alert?

Health officials suspect the rare Andes strain of hantavirus, which has limited documented cases of human-to-human transmission through close and prolonged contact, may be involved in the cruise ship outbreak. Contact tracing for everyone on the April 25 flight has now been initiated.

South African authorities have asked Airlink to notify passengers, and the airline has provided the passenger list to health officials.

Broader Context

This alert is part of the ongoing international response to the hantavirus cluster on board the MV Hondius, a Dutch expedition cruise ship that left Ushuaia, Argentina, in early April. The outbreak has so far caused three confirmed deaths and several additional suspected cases. The ship is currently anchored off Cape Verde, with plans to potentially dock in Spain’s Canary Islands under discussion.

The WHO continues to stress that the overall public risk remains low, but it is taking precautionary measures due to the virus’s incubation period and the possibility of rare person-to-person spread.

Anyone who was on flight 4Z132 is advised to monitor for symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, and shortness of breath, and to seek medical attention promptly if they feel unwell.

This is a developing story.