Italian health authorities are investigating six suspected cases of hantavirus following concerns linked to an international KLM flight associated with a fatal infection reported in South Africa. In addition to the four passengers initially placed under observation, medical checks are also being carried out on an Argentine tourist hospitalized in Messina and a British citizen currently in quarantine in Milan. The Argentine woman arrived in Italy on April 30 aboard a Buenos Aires–Rome flight and was later admitted to intensive care with severe pneumonia symptoms. Samples sent to Rome’s Spallanzani Institute reportedly tested negative for hantavirus. According to local health officials in Messina, the woman’s condition has improved and doctors are treating the case as precautionary while awaiting final confirmation.
Meanwhile, tests carried out at Milan’s Sacco Hospital on a British tourist and a travel companion also came back negative. The man had been identified as a close contact of a woman who later died in South Africa after contracting the virus during a flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg on April 25. Lombardy Welfare Councillor Guido Bertolaso confirmed the negative test results but said quarantine measures remain mandatory under Italian Health Ministry protocols for all passengers connected to the KLM flight.