WHO Says Flight Attendant Tests Negative After Virus Exposure Case

2026-05-09 01:40:51

(MENAFN) The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that fears of broader hantavirus transmission have eased after a flight attendant who had direct contact with an infected passenger tested negative for the virus.

The statement came as attention continues to grow over a hantavirus outbreak connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius, where multiple infections and three fatalities have reportedly been recorded.

During remarks to reporters in Geneva, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier explained that the Andes virus — considered the only hantavirus capable of spreading between humans — typically requires extremely close and prolonged exposure for transmission to occur.

Lindmeier noted that a flight attendant who helped a woman shortly before she died from the virus was later found to be uninfected.

"This should convince nearly everybody now that this is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who's really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low."

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