World3 min(s) read
Published 11:03 08 May 2026 GMT
KLM has released a statement after confirming that a passenger who later died from hantavirus had briefly boarded one of its flights in Johannesburg.
The 69-year-old Dutch woman was among three passengers linked to the deadly outbreak onboard the cruise ship MV Hondius.
The woman, her 70-year-old Dutch husband, and a German woman all died after contracting the virus during the voyage.
"Yesterday evening, the Dutch public health authority RIVM informed KLM that one of the Dutch nationals who died from hantavirus had briefly been on board a KLM aircraft in Johannesburg on April 25, 2026," the airline said in a statement.
"Due to the passenger’s medical condition at the time, the crew decided not to allow the passenger to travel on the flight," they added.
The woman had travelled from Saint Helena to Johannesburg on an Airlink flight carrying 82 passengers and six crew members, per NL Times. Authorities are now attempting to trace everyone on board that flight.
Per reports, she became seriously ill during the journey to South Africa but was still allowed to board KLM flight 592 bound for Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
"After the passenger was removed from the aircraft, the flight departed for the Netherlands," KLM confirmed.
The flight was a codeshare with Air France, Delta, and Scandinavian Airlines, and departed Johannesburg at 11:15PM local time on April 25.
Health officials are tracing around 150 people who were on board the cruise ship, which had been travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde after setting sail on April 1.
The outbreak has been linked to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina attended by two passengers before boarding the vessel.
The World Health Organisation confirmed it is working with governments worldwide to monitor possible exposure cases.
"In line with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is working with relevant countries to support international contact tracing, to ensure that those potentially exposed are monitored and that any further disease spread is limited," the organisation said, per The Mirror.
Passengers onboard the cruise came from countries including the UK, USA, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Japan, Greece, Belgium, Ireland, Argentina, and New Zealand.
Crew members were from countries including the UK, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Spain, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Portugal, Russia, India, Montenegro, and Guatemala.
Hantavirus is a group of viruses carried by rodents, including mice and rats. The virus can spread through urine, droppings, saliva, contaminated surfaces, or, in rare cases, rodent bites.
According to the WHO, hantavirus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which affects the lungs, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which impacts the kidneys.
The outbreak has raised fears online that the virus could become another global pandemic.
President Donald Trump addressed the growing concern after being briefed on the situation.
"It should be fine, we hope," he said, adding that US authorities are preparing a full report into the outbreak, adding: "A lot of great people are studying it."
WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove attempted to reassure the public while warning that the virus remains serious.
"This is not the next Covid, but it is a serious infectious disease. If people get infected, and infections are uncommon, they can die. People on the ship who are hearing this are very scared, rightly so," she said.
"The general public might be scared as well. Accurate information is critical. Knowing what your actual exposure might be - most people will never be exposed to this," she added.
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