The World Health Organisation on Friday (May 8) said a Dutch KLM flight attendant who had been in contact with a woman who died from a hantavirus infection in Johannesburg had tested negative for a possible infection.

“That's very good news,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.

“That 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,” he added.

The woman had been admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam on Thursday (May 7) with signs of a possible infection.

Cruise operator Oceanwide on Thursday said there were no people with symptoms of a possible infection on board the ship, which was expected to dock in Tenerife in the Canary Islands early on Sunday.

The WHO has said it was working on step-by-step guidance for when the dozens of passengers remaining on the ship disembark and travel home.

The British health service said nationals on board who are not displaying symptoms will be flown back home and asked to isolate for 45 days.

Posted by: Alma Angeles/NET25 News