By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi and National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) briefed the Parliamentary Committee on Health amid fears of Hantavirus outbreak after one person was admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg.
The briefing focused on the findings of the department’s investigation into the outbreak, the measures that have been implemented to contain the spread of the virus and the lessons identified to strengthen the resilience and effectiveness of South Africa’s health security.
Preliminary laboratory findings presented to the committee confirmed the presence of the Andes strain of hantavirus.
This zoonotic virus is primarily transmitted through contact with infected rodents and is known for causing severe respiratory illness.
Motsoaledi informed the committee that the World Health Organisation (WHO) was first notified on May 2 regarding cases of severe respiratory illness aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship, the MV Hondius.
The vessel, which was travelling from South America, carried 147 passengers and crew members of various nationalities.
The virus has already claimed two lives. Currently, one United Kingdom national remains hospitalised in Johannesburg. Health officials report the patient is in a stable condition.
Addressing questions on how one of the patients had been allowed to come into OR Tambo International Airport, the Minister explained that the woman had not presented herself as ill to airline staff in St Helena, making it difficult to flag her in advance.
“On a routine basis, air staff are in touch with countries to report any person who might be sick in the aircraft to warn them…”
“In this case, there was no warning coming in because even the staff did not pick up anything. When she arrived at the airport, she came in just like any traveller, not as a sick person. When people arrive, especially from international destinations, we have a temperature measuring [machine] but it does not mean that every human being who is sick [has a high] temperature.”
“This lady went through the scan. It did not record anything from temperature (sic). It cannot be said that South Africa’s safety mechanisms were so lax that they just allowed people in without screening,” Motsoaledi said.
The other patient currently in hospital was medically evacuated from Ascension Island to a South African private health facility in Sandton.
At the same briefing, infectious diseases expert at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Professor Lucille Blumberg, told the committee that South African authorities had confirmed detection of the virus “within 24 hours of alert” from international colleagues about concerns about the cruise ship.
“On a ship, it’s not unusual for elderly people to travel… and deaths do occur. The first three cases are elder persons, all of whom have comorbidities. [A colleague] alerted me to patient 3, who was admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg as a pneumonia patient… Within 12 hours, we had an international call and we had a number of players discussing this. It is quite a remarkable effort to make that diagnosis of a most unusual pathogen in a most unusual setting in such a short time.
“As a country, we’ve done extremely well. Patients don’t come and say, ‘I’m part of [this]’ and it does take a bit of time to get all the facts. Within 24 hours, we knew what we were dealing with and we had a large amount of information,” Blumberg said.
Furthermore, contacts were identified and contact tracing began.
“All the names of people who were involved – at OR Tambo, those at the hospital close to the airport and all of those who either transported or admitted the patient – were put on a list and contact monitoring was started.”
“It was started even before we knew what we were dealing with. That is in progress and is really working quite well. The incubation period is quite long… and they will have to be monitored. We will go back and identify who is a high risk and decide what we are going to do, and maybe intensify monitoring on those people,” Blumberg explained.
Collaboration with experts in other countries is also underway.
We have had number of consultations with counterparts in South America, who have a lot experience of Hantavirus. There’s been lab consultations. The international community have come together to support…in an extraordinary way and all of this has been coordinated through the WHO.
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health chairperson Faith Muthambi has assured the nation that the current risk of a hantavirus outbreak in South Africa remains contained, following a high-level briefing on the country’s response to the respiratory threat.
Muthambi revealed that contact tracing processes had identified 62 individuals as potential contacts.
Of these, 42 had already been successfully traced and were currently under medical monitoring.
“We note the assurances that there is limited exposure within the country at this stage. However, we must remain vigilant and ensure that our systems continue to function optimally to prevent any escalation, “Muthambi stated.