The World Health Organisation is contact-tracing passengers on an Airlink flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg, after a cruise ship passenger on board died from the rare hantavirus.

South African carrier Airlink confirmed to AFP that the April 25 flight carried 82 passengers and six crew from the British Atlantic island territory.

They included a Dutch woman whose husband died of the virus on the ship and whose condition “deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg”, WHO said in a statement on Tuesday.

She had left the ship in Saint Helena with “gastrointestinal symptoms” on April 24, flew the next day and died upon arrival at the emergency department of a Johannesburg hospital on April 26, the WHO said.

On May 4, tests for hantavirus proved positive.

“Contact tracing for passengers on the flight has been initiated,” the WHO said.

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Passengers to contact health department

Airlink operates one flight a week from the island, which takes around four hours and 45 minutes.

The South African authorities had asked the airline to notify the passengers that they must contact the health department, a representative, Karin Murray, told AFP.

WHO said it suspected that hantavirus may have spread between people on the cruise ship, which on Tuesday was anchored just off Cape Verde.

Besides the Dutch couple, a German passenger has also died. There are two confirmed and five suspected cases.

Saint Helena, home to around 4,400 close-knit people, said passengers from the MV Hondius had come ashore and some people on the remote South Atlantic island were being asked to isolate themselves.

“Two passengers with minor symptoms came ashore and may have had some contact with members of our local community,” the British overseas territory’s government said in a statement.

“While the virus can be serious, no cases of this illness have been identified in St Helena and there is no significant cause for concern on the island at this time.

“A small number of people who travelled to St Helena on the MV Hondius or had very close contact with those who were showing symptoms, are being advised by Public Health to undertake a period of self-isolation as a precaution.”

The government said a full risk-based contact tracing process was under way to identify and notify such persons.

MV Hondius to dock in Spain

Meanwhile, Spain will receive the MV Hondius in “three to four days”, in the Canary Islands, the health ministry said late Tuesday.

“The exact port of arrival has not yet been determined,” it said, adding: “Once there, the crew and passengers will be duly examined, cared for, and transferred to their respective countries”.

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