The Department of Health is still tracing and testing for the Hantavirus after a group of passengers on an Airlink flight was possibly exposed to the virus earlier this month.
National Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mogale said, “In South Africa, we have 97 contacts of which 90 have been traced, four in the Western Cape and 86 in Gauteng,” he added.
Mogale said the laboratory results of a fourth person who had been tested also came back negative for Hepatitis B virus.
Hanta virus is not like Covid-19
Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng Shadow Health MEC said this is not another Covid, but contact tracing must continue to account for all the potential cases.
“It is important to note that the wider risk is low, as this virus is not readily transmitted between humans. It appears that more than 50 of the Airlink passengers have been traced, with some still being monitored.
This includes a person in the Western Cape with mild symptoms,” he added. Bloom said no new local transmissions have been imported, so at this stage, the only confirmed cases were imported.
WHO kept abreast of developments
On Wednesday, the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, informed the Portfolio Committee on Health that the World Health Organisation (WHO) was notified on 2 May of cases of severe respiratory illness aboard a Dutch flagged cruise ship travelling from South America,
