Cabinet has commended the NICD and Department of Health for swiftly diagnosing Hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship and conducting contact tracing before the virus spread further.
Image: PEXELS
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the government has praised the country’s health system following the rapid detection of two Hantavirus cases involving passengers from a cruise ship.
The cases come as South Africa continues to strengthen its surveillance and response systems for infectious diseases, following previous alerts by health authorities about improved outbreak detection and rapid laboratory response capacity.
IOL previously reported that South African health authorities were placed on high alert after severe respiratory illness cases were linked to passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, which travelled from Argentina through the South Atlantic.
The outbreak has been linked to multiple deaths and prompted an international response coordinated by the World Health Organisation.
One British passenger remains in intensive care in Johannesburg after testing positive for Hantavirus.
Ntshavheni was briefing on the outcomes of Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, where Cabinet commended the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) for diagnosing the cases within 24 hours of hospital admission at a Gauteng facility.
“Cabinet congratulated the National Institute for Communicable Disease (NICD) on their level of expertise in diagnosing the two cases of Hantavirus within 24-hours of the patients’ admission at a Gauteng hospital,” Ntshavheni said.
She said Cabinet had also been briefed on the circumstances that led to the Hantavirus patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship being admitted to a South African hospital.
Ntshavheni said Cabinet further commended the Department of Health for the speed and effectiveness of its contact tracing processes before the diagnosis was confirmed.
“Cabinet further congratulated the Department of Health for the speed and effectiveness they conducted contact tracing for people who came into contact with the Hantavirus patients before the diagnosis was made,” she said.
Ntshavheni also said Cabinet sought to reassure the public amid fears linked to rat infestations in some municipalities.
“Cabinet wishes to allay any fear of another outbreak due to the prevalence of rats in some municipalities. Scientists have assured us that the Hantavirus is not found in any rats in South Africa or the African continent,” Ntshavheni said.
Meanwhile, she said Cabinet also welcomed a R1.5 billion financing package between Biovac and the European Investment Bank Group to establish Africa’s first end-to-end multi-vaccine production plant.
“Cabinet welcomed the R1.5 billion financing package between Biovac and the European Investment Bank Group to establish Africa’s first end-to-end, multi-vaccine production plant,” Ntshavheni said.
The plant, expected to be completed by 2028, will produce oral cholera vaccines before later expanding to vaccines for polio, pneumonia and meningitis.
“Once fully operational, the site will have a production capacity of up to 40 million doses annually, significantly bolstering Africa’s healthcare resilience and supply chain security,” she said.
Ntshavheni said the project was also expected to create more than 340 skilled jobs and around 7,000 indirect jobs while promoting technology transfer and long-term health resilience across the continent.
Cabinet also welcomed progress in the Foot and Mouth Disease vaccination programme.
“Cabinet welcomed progress with the vaccination programme with a total of 2.59 million cattle vaccinated for the Foot and Mouth Disease to date,” Ntshavheni said.
She added that government had received two million doses of the Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine from Türkiye as part of the first tranche of a six million dose order.
“The Department of Agriculture is distributing the vaccines to provinces using a targeted, science-based allocation model informed by animal risk and population data,” she said.
Ntshavheni added that a further five million doses had been ordered from Argentina through Onderstepoort Biological Products.
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