Two Finnish travellers possibly exposed to hantavirus on flight from Johannesburg

Two Finnish passengers may have been exposed to hantavirus during a flight from Johannesburg, according to Finland’s **Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)**. The travellers have since returned to Finland and remain asymptomatic, authorities report.

The exposure occurred on **25 April** aboard **KLM flight KL592** from Johannesburg to Amsterdam, where a 69-year-old Dutch woman—previously infected on the *MV Hondius* cruise ship—fell severely ill mid-flight. Crew removed her from the aircraft due to her deteriorating condition, THL confirmed in a statement. The woman later died in a Johannesburg hospital on **26 April**, the **World Health Organization (WHO)** reported.

Finnish authorities have contacted the exposed travellers as part of standard infectious disease protocols and directed them to healthcare monitoring. THL is coordinating with the **European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)** and WHO to track the situation.

The cruise ship at the centre of the outbreak, originally departing from Argentina, has reported **five confirmed and three suspected hantavirus cases**, all identified as the **Andes strain**. Three passengers have died from the virus. The vessel is currently en route to the Canary Islands, with no Finnish nationals aboard.

Meanwhile, Finland’s **Ministry of Social Affairs and Health** is preparing to classify Andes virus infections as a **communicable disease of general danger**, enabling quarantine measures and infectious disease benefits for affected individuals.