Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has confirmed that 97 possible hantavirus contacts have been identified in South Africa, with 90 already traced and being monitored for six weeks. Image: Supplied x mt
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has confirmed that 97 people have been identified as possible contacts of hantavirus-infected individuals in South Africa. One person in the Western Cape has developed mild symptoms and is being monitored. No new local transmissions have been identified. All confirmed cases remain imported.
South African health authorities have expanded their contact tracing operation following the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, with Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi confirming to the South African Broadcasting Corporation that the number of possible contacts in South Africa has risen to 97. Of those, 90 have already been traced and are being monitored for a period of six weeks 86 in Gauteng and four in the Western Cape.
Western Cape Woman Being Monitored
One of the four contacts identified in the Western Cape has developed mild symptoms consistent with those associated with hantavirus infection. Motsoaledi confirmed that the individual is being monitored by health authorities. However, tests conducted on the person have so far returned negative results.
“We are concerned about the contacts, whether they are from the plane, the ambulance and health workers. So far, we have identified 97 contacts 90 of whom have been reached and we will monitor them for six weeks. Four of the contacts are in the Western Cape. Only one contact in the Western Cape developed some symptoms,” Motsoaledi told the SABC.
Western Cape Department of Health spokesperson Byron Motingoe confirmed the department was aware of the case and that the individual was receiving appropriate monitoring and support. Testing is ongoing and the department has urged the public not to panic.
A Dutch KLM flight attendant who had been in contact with the Dutch woman who died at a Kempton Park hospital after collapsing at OR Tambo International Airport on 25 April 2026 has also tested negative for hantavirus.
The Airlink Connection
A significant portion of South Africa’s contact tracing effort has been focused on passengers who travelled on an Airlink flight linked to the hantavirus outbreak. More than 50 Airlink passengers have been traced as part of the investigation, with some still being monitored as a precautionary measure.
National Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mogale confirmed the breakdown of contacts traced to date. “In South Africa, we have 97 contacts of which 90 have been traced, four in the Western Cape and 86 in Gauteng,” Mogale said.
Democratic Alliance Gauteng Shadow Health MEC Jack Bloom welcomed the progress while cautioning that contact tracing must continue until all potential cases have been accounted for. “It is important to note that the wider risk is low, as this virus is not readily transmitted between humans,” Bloom said. He confirmed that no new local transmissions had been identified and that all currently confirmed cases were imported meaning contracted outside South Africa before the individuals arrived on South African soil.
How South African Scientists Identified the Virus in 24 Hours
One of the most remarkable aspects of South Africa’s response to the hantavirus outbreak has been the speed with which the National Institute for Communicable Diseases identified the rare Andes virus strain responsible for the infections.
Professor Lucille Blumberg of the NICD recounted to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health how the process began. On 1 May 2026 a public holiday she received an email from a UK infectious disease specialist raising concerns about severe respiratory illness among passengers on the MV Hondius. Within 24 hours of receiving that email, the NICD team had confirmed a hantavirus infection in the British patient who had been evacuated to a private hospital in Sandton.
“It was really, if I have to say it myself, amazing. This was a team effort. They have done extremely well,” Blumberg told the committee. Members of Parliament praised the NICD’s swift and decisive response, with DA deputy spokesperson on health Dr Karl le Roux describing the identification as “finding a needle in a haystack.” Health Minister Motsoaledi added his own assessment: “The NICD is the best, whether you are talking public or private.”
The strain identified was confirmed on 6 May 2026 as the Andes virus one of 38 known hantavirus strains and the only one documented to cause limited human-to-human transmission. Motsoaledi stressed that such transmission remains extremely rare and requires very close contact.
Misinformation Spreads, Eastern Cape Responds
As South Africa’s contact tracing operation has continued, so too has the spread of misinformation about the outbreak. The Eastern Cape Department of Health was forced to issue a categorical denial this week after a fake notice circulated on social media claiming that a hantavirus outbreak had occurred at Grey Hospital in East London. The department confirmed that the notice was entirely false and urged members of the public to obtain information only from official government sources.
Health authorities across the country have appealed for calm, emphasising that the risk to the general South African public remains low. The World Health Organisation has maintained its assessment of the global risk from the outbreak as low. South African rats do not carry hantavirus, which is endemic to the Americas and has never been recorded among rodents on the African continent.
The Current Picture
As of the latest available information, the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius has resulted in eight confirmed cases globally and three fatalities — a 70-year-old Dutch man who died aboard the ship, his 69-year-old Dutch wife who died at a Kempton Park hospital after collapsing at OR Tambo, and a German national who died on board on 2 May 2026. The remains of the Dutch woman were repatriated to the Netherlands on Thursday. A British national remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Sandton. The MV Hondius is en route to Italy and will not be docking in South Africa.
In South Africa, 97 contacts have been identified, 90 have been traced and all are being monitored. No new local transmissions have been confirmed. One person in the Western Cape with mild symptoms has tested negative. The laboratory results of a fourth person tested for Hepatitis B virus also returned negative.
Editors Note All case numbers and contact tracing figures referenced in this article are based on statements from the National Department of Health and Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi as at 11 May 2026. The situation remains fluid and figures may change as contact tracing continues. Mzansi Today Live will update this article as further information becomes available.