A woman in the Western Cape is being monitored for symptoms linked to hantavirus after contact tracing connected to confirmed cases from the MV Hondius cruise ship.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said tests for the virus have so far come back negative.

The concern follows the death of a Dutch man from hantavirus on the MV Hondius. His wife later collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on 25 April. South African authorities have been tracing people who may have had contact with her.

Motsoaledi said 97 contacts were identified. Of those, 90 have been reached and will be monitored for six weeks. Four contacts are in the Western Cape.

Only one Western Cape contact has developed symptoms. Motsoaledi said the early signs are flu-like and added that tests had come back negative by Friday.

Health Officials Say No Need to Panic

The Department of Health said there is no need for public panic at this stage.

It said only two patients from the cruise ship had been within South Africa’s borders. The World Health Organisation is coordinating a wider response with affected islands and countries to contain further spread.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, hantavirus is usually linked to rodent exposure in countries where the disease is endemic. It has been reported among specific travellers from the MV Hondius.

The illness is rare but can be serious. The NICD said only the Andes strain is known to spread from person to person.

Cruise-Linked Cases Remain Under Watch

So far, eight confirmed cases have been reported and three have been fatal.

National Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the remains of the 69-year-old Dutch woman who died after collapsing at OR Tambo were repatriated to the Netherlands on Thursday.

Mohale also said a British national, who was medically evacuated from the ship to a Johannesburg medical facility, is in a stable but critical condition and is receiving care.

A Dutch KLM flight attendant who had contact with the woman who died in Johannesburg has tested negative for the virus.

Rhodes University Rejects False Claims

Rhodes University has also dismissed claims of hantavirus on its Makhanda campus.

The university said a poster circulating on social media was false. It urged students, staff and the wider community not to panic or spread unverified information.