A flight attendant has been hospitalized with a suspected hantavirus infection after reportedly coming into contact with an ill passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship who later d!ed.
The KLM stewardess, whose identity has not been disclosed, was placed in isolation at a hospital in Amsterdam on Wednesday night, May 6, for testing, according to Dutch news outlet RTL Nieuws. She had briefly interacted with an elderly Dutch passenger who was considered too ill to travel, later collapsed at the airport, and d!ed shortly afterward.
Health officials said the flight attendant was taken from her home in Haarlem by medical personnel after developing mild symptoms.
The KLM staff member had come into contact with the 69-year-old Dutch woman, who had been evacuated from the cruise ship after her 70-year-old husband d!ed onboard during the outbreak.
The woman was transferred from the ship to Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 25 — about two weeks after her husband’s death — so she could return to the Netherlands for treatment. According to KLM, she boarded the flight briefly but was later removed because of her deteriorating condition.
“Due to the passenger’s medical condition at the time, the crew decided not to allow the passenger to travel on the flight,” a KLM spokesperson said.
The woman later collapsed at the airport and d!ed at a nearby hospital the following day.
KLM said passengers on the flight, which eventually departed as scheduled, are now being contacted by Dutch health authorities.
So far, three people — the Dutch couple and a German national — have d!ed in connection with the outbreak aboard the MV Hondius.
