'No reason for panic' over Hantavirus as contact tracing underway: South African expert

A South African medical expert has sought to assure the public as concerns rise over a potential hantavirus outbreak, stressing there is "no reason for panic" as large-scale contact tracing is already underway after two hantavirus cases were detected in the country.

South Africa has found the human-to-human transmissible Andes strain in two people who arrived there after disembarking from a cruise ship linked to an outbreak of the disease, according to a presentation the country's health minister gave to parliament on Wednesday.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi briefed the National Assembly on the implications of the outbreak, which are linked to a cluster of severe acute respiratory illness reported by a Dutch-flagged cruise ship which was carrying 147 tourists.

He said that of the 62 possible contacts of the two passengers evacuated to South Africa, 42 have already been located and placed under medical observation.

Despite fears over the situation, Angelique Coetzee, vice chairperson of the Unity Forum of Family Practitioners and a former chairperson of the South African Medical Association, said hantaviruses are generally not easily transmitted from person to person and believes we are not on the cusp of a new pandemic.

"At this stage, there's actually no reason for panic. So normally hantavirus is not easily transmitted from person to person. However, there is a specific strain, we call it the 'Andes hantavirus', and it's mainly identified in South America where limited human to human transmission has previously been documented. But again, this does not mean we are now dealing with a new pandemic. It just justifies careful contact tracing and monitoring of individuals who had very close contact with these infected patients," she said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also stressed on Thursday that the deadly hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius in the Atlantic did not mark the beginning of a COVID-like pandemic, noting the limited spread between humans.

China's Foreign Ministry on Friday reiterated the Chinese government's call for Paraguay to sever so-called "diplomatic ties" with Taiwan authorities and recognize the one-China principle.

Responding to the Paraguayan president's provocative visit to China's Taiwan region, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian restated China's position at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

"The one-China principle is a basic norm governing international relations and a prevailing consensus of the international community, and so far 183 countries have established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China on the basis of the one-China principle. China urges the Paraguayan authority to stand on the right side of history at an early date and make the right choice of recognizing the one-China principle and severing the so-called diplomatic ties with the Taiwan authorities," he said.