A Dutch air hostess has been hospitalized after coming in contact with a cruise passenger carrying the rat virus as the number of infections rose to nine. <\/p>\n
The KLM stewardess was flown to Amsterdam for treatment with “mild symptoms” after meeting an infected woman who later died from hantavirus.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsign up for Sun<\/span> Newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n It comes like this…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n When the infected woman attempted to fly from South Africa to the Netherlands, she came into contact with an infectious passenger from a rat virus cruise ship. <\/p>\n It comes as fears of global spread grow – two Britons are isolating in the UK, a Swiss man is being treated in Zurich and three people, including a British crew member, have been medically evacuated to the Netherlands. <\/p>\n in solitude<\/p>\n British tour guide fired from rat virus cruise breaks silence in hospital<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n going global<\/p>\n Race against time to stop rat infestation as cruise guests visit ‘all corners’<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Two Singapore residents have been kept in isolation awaiting tests for the deadly disease.<\/p>\n WHO confirmed yesterday that the hantavirus strain was the Andes variant, a rare version of the usually rat-borne virus that can spread from person to person. <\/p>\n Investigators believe the virus was brought on board the ship by a Dutch couple who caught it while bird watching in Argentina, and both died. <\/p>\n After the first passenger, a Dutch man, died on April 11, his wife disembarked in St. Helena and flew to Johannesburg.<\/p>\n The woman then tried to board a KLM flight to Amsterdam, but was removed from the plane before it could take off. <\/p>\n KLM said he was not allowed to fly due to his worsening medical condition. <\/p>\n After this, the woman died of Hantavirus in a hospital in Johannesburg. <\/p>\n A French case of the virus \u2014 not the first in a cruise ship passenger \u2014 has been linked to a dead Dutch woman’s flight from St. Helena to Johannesburg. <\/p>\n Infected air hostess brings known cases to nine. <\/p>\n A total of three people \u2013 a married Dutch couple and a German citizen \u2013 have already died from the virus.<\/p>\n Authorities are trying to locate 40 people who disembarked from the MV Hondius off the remote British territory of St. Helena on April 25.<\/p>\n One passenger said they did not realize they had been exposed to the deadly virus when they disembarked from the plane.<\/p>\n passenger told El Pais<\/a>: “There are 23 people roaming around and no one had contacted them until three days ago.”<\/p>\n “Australians went back to Australia, Taiwan to Taiwan, Americans to all corners of North America. The British went to England, the Dutch went home… I don’t remember the rest.”<\/p>\n But Dutch officials later said about 40 passengers abandoned ship in St. Helena.<\/p>\n The ship operator then said 29 passengers had disembarked in the remote British territory, and said there were now “no symptomatic people” left on board.<\/p>\n The passengers who disembarked in St. Helena included seven Britons and people from a total of 12 nationalities. <\/p>\n He did not confirm where all the passengers were now.<\/p>\n There were about 145 passengers left when the ship set sail for the Canary Islands. <\/p>\n Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer of the UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA), suggested that asymptomatic British passengers still on board the ship would self-isolate for 45 days after returning home.<\/p>\n A British crew member suffering from the virus was medically evacuated from the infected ship yesterday.<\/p>\n\n
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