KLM flight attendant hospitalized after contact with hantavirus passenger

A KLM flight attendant in Amsterdam has been hospitalized and is being tested for hantavirus after contact with a cruise-ship passenger who later died, Dutch health officials said.

KLM said the passenger had briefly been on board flight KL592 in Johannesburg before being removed because of her medical condition. Dutch authorities are now contacting passengers from the flight as a precaution.

RIVM, the Dutch public health institute, said the outbreak linked to the MV Hondius involves the Andes variant of hantavirus. It said person-to-person transmission is rare, but possible with very close contact.

RIVM also said three people in the Netherlands were being tested after contact with an Andes virus case and that monitoring of passengers was continuing. Later reporting said the KLM crew member had mild symptoms and was isolated at Amsterdam UMC.

The cruise-ship outbreak itself has already prompted international tracing and medical evacuations. WHO said on May 7 that eight cases have been reported, including three deaths, and five of the cases have been confirmed as hantavirus.

The new Dutch case shows how the response has widened beyond the ship to airlines, hospitals and national health agencies. The main unanswered question is whether the flight attendant's test will confirm hantavirus and whether any additional secondary cases emerge.