East Coast Radio - Catch Up Stacey & J Sbu

Hantavirus: What is it and why is it so important?

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We keep hearing about this Hantavirus, and now it has hit a lot closer to home. The Department of Health has confirmed a case right here in South Africa, after a critically ill British passenger was airlifted off a cruise ship and taken to a private hospital in Sandton.

The ship, the MV Hondius, had been on quite the journey, stopping at Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, St Helena and Ascension Island, among others. And sadly, two other passengers from that same ship have died. A 70-year-old Dutch man passed away at St Helena and his wife collapsed at OR Tambo Airport and did not survive.

Now, the Department of Health is saying: please do not panic. Contact tracing is underway and they are pointing out that only two passengers from that ship actually set foot on South African soil. Hantavirus is not easily spread between people, it mainly comes from contact with infected rodents.

We need to learn far more about this and one person who is a step ahead of is Nushera Soodyal from ECR Newswatch. Nushera spoke with an epidemiologist about the virus and everything we need to know about its origins.
5 May English South Africa Society & Culture · Personal Journals

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