Yusuf Abramjee@Abramjee
The Department of Health has confirmed the deaths of two tourists and a third critical case linked to an outbreak of severe illness aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was travelling from Ushuaia in southern Argentina to the Canary Islands.
The vessel, carrying around 150 international passengers, passed several remote islands, including St Helena and Ascension, while sailing near South African waters.
The first case involved a 70-year-old Dutch man who developed symptoms such as fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, and died upon arrival at St Helena.
His 69-year-old wife later collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport while in transit to the Netherlands and died at a hospital in Kempton Park, with her test results still pending.
A third patient, a British national, was medically evacuated to a private hospital in Sandton after his condition worsened; he has tested positive for Hantavirus, a rare but potentially fatal virus spread mainly by rodents, and remains in critical condition in isolation.
Health authorities, working with the NICD and Gauteng Health Department, have initiated contact tracing to identify and monitor anyone who may have been exposed.
Officials emphasise that there is no need for public panic, as only two of the affected individuals were within South Africa’s borders.
The World Health Organization is coordinating a multi-country response involving all affected regions to contain any potential spread of the disease.