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News & Current Events May 7, 2026 at 8:36 AM

KLM flight attendant hospitalized after contact with hantavirus cruise ship passenger

Posted by mods4mods

KLM flight attendant hospitalized after contact with hantavirus cruise ship passenger
NL Times
KLM flight attendant hospitalized after contact with hantavirus cruise ship passenger
A KLM flight attendant from Haarlem has been hospitalized due to a possible hantavirus infection. She came into contact with the 69-year-old Dutch woman who died of the virus in Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight attendant is in isolation at Amsterdam UMC with mild symptoms. She is currently being tested for the hantavirus, the Ministry of Public Health confirmed to RTL Nieuws.
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Embarrassed-Dot9193 May 7, 2026 +5799
i'm just thinking about the Fifa World Cup that starts next month with thousands of people from all over the world traveling around
5799
MachineCarl May 7, 2026 +1851
Covid in EU hit hard when there was a football match in Italy, they didn't give a f*** and all the folks travelling back became super spreaders
1851
SICKxOFxITxALL May 7, 2026 +741
If you're talking about the famous Atalanta-Valencia super spreader game saying people didn't give a f*** is a bit unfair. No one had any idea what was happening or that there were already cases in Italy yet. In fact Italy's first official recorded case was a few days after that game.
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frantic_calm May 7, 2026 +272
It was the Liverpool Atletico Madrid match. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/damning-report-suggests-liverpool-atletico-21836697 Boris also delayed lockdown so Cheltenham could go ahead. That sealed the fate of a lot of people being a week long piss up for a lot of people.
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RunsfromWisdom May 7, 2026 +57
Don’t worry. We learned big lessons from Covid and have a great healthcare infrastructure for a future pandemic.  /s
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CharmingCrust May 7, 2026 +125
If you are going to the World Cup and have a slight fever, don't worry about it. No need to postpone it. Just go with all you've got and when you feel the need to sneeze just look up and release your influence as far as possible. It will increase your importance in the world.
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wrestler145 May 7, 2026 +32
This is what the voices in my head sound like after I have my morning mushroom coffee with cordyceps.
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Roma_Dee May 7, 2026 +7967
The human-to-human transmission cannot be as unlikely as people say it is if this is what’s happening. What, was the flight attendant hugging and kissing the infected? Were they sitting right next to them for extended periods of time? If not, that’s pretty contagious.
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BilaSamahani May 7, 2026 +3059
I read about the last major outbreak of this human-human strain in 2018. Apparently it is indeed extremely contagious but only for a very short window—like 24 hours or so. And then the incubation period can be weeks long between initial contact and symptoms. Fortunately it doesn’t spread while asymptomatic (unlike covid) but it makes it hard to connect the cause to effect if you develop a fever four weeks after waiting in line after a random stranger in a public bathroom. And I think they’re saying it’s unlikely because we’ve only had something like 300 cases of human-human transmission ever in history. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/06/health/andes-strain-hantavirus-explained
3059
Alleandros May 7, 2026 +3684
Well if Covid taught me anything, then even with a 24 hour infection period people will refuse to stay home for just a single day and wear a mask when around others for a few weeks just to be on the safe side.
3684
NerdTalkDan May 7, 2026 +1559
If Covid taught me anything, people will lick ice cream and put it back on the shelves for an airborne virus. I'm fully expecting peopel to start putting rat shit in ice cream for fun and donos on Kick or other degen streamer sites
1559
ALysistrataType May 7, 2026 +318
Omg I remember those absolutely INSANE videos.
318
NerdTalkDan May 7, 2026 +165
Yeah man. People suck.
165
Bargadiel May 7, 2026 +137
Either that or taking rat shit pills because some idiot on a podcast or a certain president said it would make them immune.
137
genreprank May 7, 2026 +72
This person was already traveling on an airplane while deathly sick
72
ailurophile23 May 7, 2026 +78
Right after her spouse died of something clearly viral. You don’t need to be an md to figure out that maybe you should isolate until you know more. She was on a packed airplane, until the crew kicked her off the flight for being too sick.
78
b0w3n May 7, 2026 +70
I saw a few videos from the cruise ship the other day and wow the few I saw were all whining about being stuck on the ship and how this wasn't fair to them. One guy in particular was crying about it. Just absolute lunacy that they're bending the knee and allowing them off into the general public while still being highly contagious. It may not be like covid but there's a nonzero chance it'll probably still reach pandemic levels and kill a f*** load of people.
70
Firestorm0x0 May 7, 2026 +238
"I CAN'T BREATHE!!" - these people
238
SunshineFlowerPerson May 7, 2026 +252
And then those same people become masked goons with ICE
252
alphabety-alphabeety May 7, 2026 +68
And we all know that if there was another pandemic that required masks, those same idiots will then claim that they can't wear them because of whatever reason. It really is a matter of the right being more selfish, and the left being more selfless. Thats all it is. Once you realise that it makes it a lot easier to understand the world. Look at the left leaning nations, more likely to support each other. right leaning nations, more likely to shit on their neighbours and then cry about their ass being dirty.
68
Whosebert May 7, 2026 +157
"them grandparents can die" -republicans at their very important haircuts.
157
genreprank May 7, 2026 +143
If it's such a long incubation period, how is the attendant sick already? Answering my own question: it has been over a week now
143
Unclematttt May 7, 2026 +170
What a lot of people are missing (even though it states it in the article), she is currently being tested for hantavirus, and they have not confirmed that’s what it is yet. Not that it is completely out of the realm of possibility, but we don’t know what she has quite yet.
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Beepbeep_bepis May 7, 2026 +84
It’s also been nearly 2 weeks, since the KLM flight was 25 April, and the virus incubation period is only “up to” 8 weeks. I think it’s 1-8 iirc? She’s within the window of possibly having it.
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trippknightly May 7, 2026 +10
Rapid testing was important for COVID. How long does hanta testing take right now?
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scyice May 7, 2026 +23
7-10 days from my experience.
23
MaracujaBarracuda May 7, 2026 +123
It does spread in the prodromal phase though when symptoms are mild and nonspecific. Prodromal means before acute symptoms. So for example, with Covid the prodromal phase might be an itch in your throat you barely pay attention to or attribute to allergies before you get full flu like symptoms and brain fog etc. With HSV 2 the prodromal phase might be a tingle in the genitals or flu like symptoms before the acute phase where notice blisters. 
123
disposablemeatsack May 7, 2026 +85
Well if all the highly contagious people keep visiting central hubs like airports and cruise terminals, its still going to end pretty shitty for some unaware travelers.
85
SolidusDave May 7, 2026 +375
That virus species doesn't have much data, but apparently it has a very short infectious phase, during which it is then "moderately" infectious, I guess. So unlike e.g. Covid you might be sicker/incubating it for longer but it could just be a day during which you can effectively transmit the virus to others (as in, you don't need to make out with them to do so). Then on the other days (or however long) one would have to be in very close, prolonged contact to catch it. edit: they tested negative now anyway.
375
EqualPassenger4271 May 7, 2026 +204
For now, lets mutate it a bunch around the world in varied populations and see what happens!
204
Fearless-Effect-8742 May 7, 2026 +147
The median R value of secondary person-to-person transmission before the imposed control measures was estimated to be 2.12 in this study: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2009040#ap1&uccLastUpdatedDate=2026-01-20%2016%3A06%3A29.751%20%2B0000&rememberMe=true CNN article on spread here: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/06/health/andes-strain-hantavirus-explained
147
BadahBingBadahBoom May 7, 2026 +1087
At this point I should mention, contrary to popular belief, R₀ is not actually the speed of an outbreak. It is the rate at which it grows (basic reproduction number). Covid (original strain) had an R₀ of around 3 and a median latent period (time from being infected to when you start becoming infectious and can infect others) of somewhere around 5 days. That meant if you had one person infected with Covid then it would take only 3 weeks before you had 100 cases, and 10,000 3 weeks after that. That's how Covid spread so incredibly quickly. Average R₀ of hantavirus is around \~1.2 and even if we take this Andes virus at the upper end observed at 2.12, with a median latent period of 18 days it would take *four months* for the outbreak to reach 100 cases. And that is assuming we do nothing in those four months to reduce the R₀. To put it in perspective of this outbreak, it appears the first patient contracted the disease before boarding back in *March*. The fact it is now May and we only have 7 more cases (only 4 confirmed at this point) should give people some confidence shit is not about to hit the fan. This is nothing like Covid and we have no reason to believe it could be.
1087
shiguruku May 7, 2026 +152
Additionally, with the 2018 ANDV outbreak in Argentina, quarantine measures reduced the R(t) to 0.96, dropping it below the threshold required for sustained spread. The fact that we know what this is means we can respond accordingly Edit: changed R-naught to R(t) or R(e), as this is the effective reproduction number: transmission rates after intervention like patient isolation
152
Alissinarr May 7, 2026 +33
>During the 90 minutes he was at the party, he infected five others, including two people sitting roughly a foot from him at the same table and two people who were sitting roughly 4 feet away from him at neighboring tables. The fifth person to catch the virus crossed paths with the patient only briefly on their way to the restroom. ... >Although all five patients were exposed at the November 3 birthday party, they didn’t start to show symptoms for another two to three weeks. >The second patient in the outbreak, a 61-year-old man described as having an active social life, infected six others before he died, 16 days after first showing symptoms. >His wife, who attended his wake with a fever, infected 10 others, who all became sick between 17 and 40 days after attending that event. U9Dg-g7t2l4 >An additional 12 people were infected after contact with previously infected patients. [Sauce](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/06/health/andes-strain-hantavirus-explained)
33
some_where_else May 7, 2026 +92
Right, and Covid had (has!) pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic infectiousness - which hopefully this virus does not if I'm reading the comments correctly.
92
BadahBingBadahBoom May 7, 2026 +67
Correct. As of now there is no indication this Andes virus of hantavirus has spread pre-symptomatic. This ofc could change but if it was highly contagious, *especially* if it was highly contagious on a cruise ship of all places, we would have expected a far higher number of cases since March than we currently have. Though the fact that the disease appears to take around 18 days (but could be much more) before people start to become symptomatic (first prodromal phase that I'm sure the medical professionals are hammering to all those at risk to be on the look out for) and start to becoming infectious means this will take quite a while before epidemiologists can be confident the outbreak has definitely ended and there are not going to be any more expected cases. This suspected case of a KLM flight attendant on the Dutch woman's second flight from South Africa that she ended up not taking and deboarded before the flight departed due to her illness. Although I should note the flight attendant has 'mild symptoms' and this is not confirmed as a hantavirus transmission as of yet. I would expect a few more cases in the next few weeks but unless we start seeing transmissions of no known origin (community transmission) this is something that only concerns the specific individuals involved, not the wider population. I believe the WHO is scheduled to give [a briefing at 13:00 GMT](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy592qeq071t#player) today on this.
67
poranges May 7, 2026 +22
It was estimated to be 2.12 in this specific outbreak (before control measures) but it’s noted there were potentially contributing characteristics (a large number of social gatherings within this group). Other outbreaks haven’t had as high of an R value.
22
RadtroDesigns May 7, 2026 +120
They have not even confirmed the flight attendant \*has\* hantavirus. the early, mild symptoms that the flight attendant has, are the same as the cold and flu. They hospitalized her as a precaution, out of an excess of care. I will wait for the test results to come back
120
jp3372 May 7, 2026 +15
This comment should be at the top.
15
EstelLiasLair May 7, 2026 +25
“the study also found that the virus could be passed relatively easily during this window, after periods of only brief proximity to someone else. The researchers were able to show that the first patient, a 68-year-old man who attended a birthday party with about 100 other people, infected someone else after being in contact with them for only a few moments, on the way to the restroom.”
25
HappySlappyMan May 7, 2026 +157
I think she died the next day or very soon shortly thereafter. She was incredibly sick and likely shedding massive amounts of virus. With hemorrhagic fevers, like ebola and marburg, and other very highly fatal disease, by the time someone is this sick and contagious, they are usually too sick to really do anything, blunding the spread. It's kind of remarkable she was able to get around the airport and into that airplane at all.
157
pied_goose May 7, 2026 +132
The initial symptoms are rather unspecific (fever, fatigue, muscle aches) until you hit the rapid deterioration phase (fluid buildup in the lungs for this variant) She flew in to Johannesburg on first leg of her journey (after disembarking with her dead husband's body. And I can imagine there is enough emotional turnoil in that situation to maybe handwave any flu-like symptoms...) and probably started declining when waiting for the KLM flight home.
132
obeytheturtles May 7, 2026 +110
If we have learned anything, it's that viral infections compel people to seek out international air travel, like some kind of mind control
110
_aviemore_ May 7, 2026 +177
What makes this looks worst is that she had been on board the plane at the O.R. Tambo International Airport for a “short period” before KLM staff asked her to disembark(because she was sick). Article also states other passengers were contacted and warned about symptoms - which can appear up to 60 days after contact! -  not looking great, is it?
177
Ok-Confidence9649 May 7, 2026 +151
Right. I am having a hard time believing that this virus that can take 1-8 weeks to be symptomatic is only contagious for 1 day and that just happens to be the day they put sick people on international flights. Also, why are they sending sick people all over the world and only quarantining the ones who aren’t sick yet? They can’t send some medical professionals and equipment into the boat instead?
151
itcantjustbemeright May 7, 2026 +100
A flight attendant would have been interacting with people for the entire flight, touching cups and garbage and surfaces that people had their germs on. If someone was sick they could have been handling tissues or barf bags.
100
phatdinkgenie May 7, 2026 +81
The deceased Dutch women didn't get on a KLM flight. She flew from St. Helena to Johanesburg on a smaller airline and when she ATTEMPTED to board her KLM flight to Amsetrrdam she was denied boarding due to looking unwell. The passenger than collapsed and died at the airport. The contact between the KLM attendant and the passenger would have occurred in the airport.
81
colbertmancrush May 7, 2026 +23
What's your source on this? Everything I've read says she was escorted off the plane.
23
Comfortable-Earth411 May 7, 2026 +21
Not true, the deceased woman did board the flight, but was removed from the plane before take-off.
21
lxlxnde May 7, 2026 +27
Was she seated on the plane and subsequently escorted off, or did she get stopped in the jet bridge, or what?
27
imp0ppable May 7, 2026 +41
Escorted off according to this: https://dutchreview.com/news/dutch-hantavirus-patient-was-on-klm-plane-to-amsterdam/#:~:text=Tambo%20airport%20the%20night%20before,April%2025%2C%20bound%20for%20Amsterdam.
41
workedmisty May 7, 2026 +51
Perhaps she helped e***** her off the plane since she was so ill? That would get you pretty close
51
Marali87 May 7, 2026 +64
Not hugging and kissing, but the way I understood it, the sick woman became unwell on board and she was taken off board. I imagine, with a sick person, staff gets rather close to physically support/care for them. I do think they were in close contact.
64
cowgary May 7, 2026 +32
Well she hasn’t actually been confirmed to have it, so we don’t know?
32
AstraeaMoonrise May 7, 2026 +2107
The flight attendant might not have this virus and is being tested still. Hopefully it’s just an abundance of caution and a simple cold. We shall see soon I suppose
2107
[deleted] May 7, 2026 +696
[removed]
696
queenhadassah May 7, 2026 +218
It is possible she has a different illness (hopefully!), but mild symptoms don't mean it's not hantavirus. Hantavirus tends to start out mild and non-specific before taking a sudden turn for the worse
218
Atkena2578 May 7, 2026 +37
It is stomach bug season in many areas so it could just be a normal norovirus
37
Positive-Road3903 May 7, 2026 +6085
not sure about you guys, but I'm getting my 3-ply toilet paper while its in stock
6085
Maskguy May 7, 2026 +1421
Are you planning to shit more like last time?
1421
coolstory May 7, 2026 +789
The problem with issues like this is that if you assume everyone is going to act irrationally, it’s in your best interest to act first (so you can get TP before it’s out of stock for a month again). It’s the prisoners’ dilemma writ large.
789
Maskguy May 7, 2026 +426
Yeah true. Smarter play would be to buy a bidet either way.
426
cmykaye May 7, 2026 +228
Yeah cause no matter what, you get to have a bidet
228
JuicyPossum May 7, 2026 +102
Genuine quote from my MIL in days gone by: "I'll just go out and get some bread before everyone starts panic-buying." The irony escaped her....
102
g0_west May 7, 2026 +47
I don't think buying bread counts as panic buying, that's just normal groceries. Panic buying to me implies buying the whole tray of bread and freezing it all "just in case"
47
concorde77 May 7, 2026 +185
Maybe installing that bidet WAS a good idea...
185
RabidPlaty May 7, 2026 +59
Thankfully it’s summer and I can bust out the garden hose!
59
Future_Literature_70 May 7, 2026 +94
Honestly, if it's Hanta and it's more easily spreadable than previously thought, then toilet paper is the least of our worries. Up to 40% mortality rate. I thought 2026 couldn't get any worse, buy hey, it can. Let's just hope it all fizzles out and it's not as bad as it seems right now.
94
perskes May 7, 2026 +109
I never understood the run on toilet paper. It's the least important thing during a lock down. I can scoot over from the toilet straight into the shower and my ass would be cleaner.
109
LionGuy190 May 7, 2026 +56
Suddenly bidet
56
IM_NOT_NOT_HORNY May 7, 2026 +171
If you think about it a flight attendant is both one of the most likely people to catch any pathogen and also the worst case scenario for spreading it What other jobs could possibly have you in direct close contact with so many individuals that will also be shortly traveling to just about every corner of the world? Or at least also brush shoulders with others traveling... I mean think about layover flights too.. You could then have a person just chillin in the terminal as thousands of international travelers walk by... Who then also will be in contact with a flight attendant, etc etc.
171
RPS93 May 7, 2026 +79
Thing is, everyone has been trying to say these viruses (hantaviruses) are only transmissable through close contact - ie kissing, hugging, being DIRECTLY coughed/sneezed on. I'm not saying that a flight attendant won't be coughed or sneezed on - but we now have several cases of people who were likely not in CLOSE contact but rather just in 'general vicinity' contact. It's not a reason to panic yet... but it's starting to raise eyebrows.
79
Doctor_Killshot May 7, 2026 +21
Has this flight attendant been confirmed to have it?
21
imatworksoshhh May 7, 2026 +25
No, but this is listnook so don't worry about that small detail. spread panic!
25
StinkFishHead May 7, 2026 +4839
We haven't learned anything from covid, have we.
4839
doctorgibson May 7, 2026 +2711
> The Dutch health service GGD was working on contacting all the passengers on the flight, warning them to keep an eye out for symptoms. Hello contact tracing! Been a few years since we met
2711
Cerveza87 May 7, 2026 +851
lol, keep an eye out. “You’ve been near someone, isolate for x number of days” This, watch for symptoms thing is after the horse has bolted
851
takesthebiscuit May 7, 2026 +548
\>Ok let me self isolate once I have bought some supplies and visited all my friends to let them know I’ll be in side for a week or two.
548
QuarterLifeCircus May 7, 2026 +464
In 2020 my grandma and her husband both tested positive for Covid at the doctors office. Since they were going to have to isolate, they stopped at the grocery and hardware stores on their way home. Infuriating.
464
Username_Used May 7, 2026 +112
And then washed their cans and fruit in bleach
112
cabbage16 May 7, 2026 +49
My, admittedly, idiot of a sister did this plus started washing her hands with bleach during early covid. It tore her hands up really bad.
49
midunda May 7, 2026 +45
Soap is phenomenally good at destroying viruses, it just tears them apart. No need to bleach.
45
Abbot_of_Cucany May 7, 2026 +21
That's true for enveloped viruses, which includes hantavirus and the ones that cause influenza, Covid, herpes, measles Non-enveloped viruses (norovirus, adenovirus [common cold], many others) are resistant to soap and hand sanitizer. Hand washing is still very effective against them but that's *because they get removed from skin and rinsed down the drain.* To kill these viruses on surfaces, you do need bleach rather than soap.
21
Kitzu-de May 7, 2026 +111
> I’ll be in side for a week or two. This works for covid but not for hanta. We are talking about 8 weeks here.
111
takesthebiscuit May 7, 2026 +202
\*8 weeks f*** that\* Will be the attitude of a significant number of people
202
Aggressive_Noise6426 May 7, 2026 +80
Managers you mean. 
80
bulbmonkey May 7, 2026 +69
Maybe you're not old enough to remember Covid19, but back in the day, it certainly wasn't only managers who had zero chill for any such measures....
69
Thatmetalchef May 7, 2026 +64
Particularly certain red hat wearing people in the US
64
GunFodder May 7, 2026 +186
The incubation period for the Hantavirus is between 1 and 8 weeks. There is no known cure. If this thing starts spreading in earnest, the United States is absolutely FUCKED so long as President "Just stop testing" and Health Secretary Roadkill are in charge.
186
cherenk0v_blue May 7, 2026 +102
The world in general will be pretty much "absolutely fucked." An easily transmittable person-to-person hantaviris is a worst-case scenario as far as epidemiology is concerned.
102
AI_moderated_failure May 7, 2026 +42
I'm hopeful New Zealand will just shut down the borders again.
42
Merpedy May 7, 2026 +83
Apparently the incubation period is quite long and I imagine isolating for several weeks won’t be acceptable for most employers - which is really silly in the travel industry particularly Judging by the timelines with this cruise ship, the average seems to be 20 days
83
Cerveza87 May 7, 2026 +66
“Really silly for most employers” I get it, but we JUST finished with Covid. If Employers dont take it seriously they are back to wfh and all those expensive offices sitting vacant. Id also argue, if a dr says stay home, here is a note - there isnt jack shit an employer can do. (I know there are edge cases, 0 hour contracts where someone would not get paid etc)
66
Fortestingporpoises May 7, 2026 +388
We never actually did it in the US. I truly realized that when in 2021 we did our honeymoon in Uganda and they had people sign their name with contact info at restaurants to actually do contact tracing. A country where 2/3rds don’t have electricity did a better job of taking a pandemic seriously than the former leader of the free world.
388
memeleta May 7, 2026 +162
I was in Africa for work in February 2020, all airport personnel everywhere wore full hazmat suits, people masked etc. Back to the UK to massive parties and business as usual. Mind boggling.
162
Fortestingporpoises May 7, 2026 +125
I do realize that countries in Africa are also much closer to major epidemics than we are and that’s a major reason they don’t f*** around. HIV and Ebola for instance. But still. We’re supposed to be educated.
125
memeleta May 7, 2026 +116
It's because of the western arrogance that bad stuff happens elsewhere, to those "other" people.
116
Suspicious_Place1270 May 7, 2026 +10
the "others" are simply more vulnerable it's cheaper to get a hazmat suit and protect yourself than to starve because you have to pay horribly high medical bills because you were sick or you could not work
10
the0rthopaedicsurgeo May 7, 2026 +91
I flew to Italy during Covid (late 2020 when restrictions were eased). When I got to Milan, I had to sign a form and go through a police checkpoint to get into the country. Basically where I'd come from, where I was going, vaccine status etc. When I flew back to the UK, the flight crew told everyone how it was a requirement to fill in the passenger locator form, and that if you hadn't already done one, they would hand out forms and pens because it was really important. I did one, and when I got off the plane, it was just an open walk into the country. I actually tried to find anyone to hand this form into and there was no one - just free entry from anywhere in the world to spread your disease.
91
_GD5_ May 7, 2026 +48
The US never took it seriously. When early cases in Vietnam came up, those contact lists were broadcast on the news. The whole country hunted down those people down.
48
ughlump May 7, 2026 +70
Can’t this virus show no symptoms for up to a month? Edit: Looks like it can be from a few days to up to 60 days. Whelp it was a good run folks.
70
raining_sheep May 7, 2026 +40
This strain is 7-39 days. But you're only contagious for about a day when symptoms are the [worst](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/06/health/andes-strain-hantavirus-explained)
40
EstelLiasLair May 7, 2026 +14
“APPEARS TO” be only contagious then. But “the study also found that the virus could be passed relatively easily during this window, after periods of only brief proximity to someone else. The researchers were able to show that the first patient, a 68-year-old man who attended a birthday party with about 100 other people, infected someone else after being in contact with them for only a few moments, on the way to the restroom.”
14
WandererOfInterwebs May 7, 2026 +19
Yeah WHO recommends 45 days of monitoring for suspected exposure
19
theHip May 7, 2026 +370
We learned that people don’t give a f*** about others and let them do what they want or else they will claim dictatorship.
370
bushwakko May 7, 2026 +86
Actual dictatorship doesn't bother them though. In fact, they encourage it.
86
Ozy_Flame May 7, 2026 +22
Freedom before following health protocols.
22
Inflammo May 7, 2026 +265
We learned that 1. A disturbing number of people only care about themselves 2. If we are dependent on people cooperating to save us all we are galactically fucked 3. The number of stupid people in circulation is far greater than estimated. Edit: Here is a PDF of Carlo Cipolla's Basic Laws of Stupidity: https://ia800108.us.archive.org/3/items/01-miscellaneous-musings/1970-00-00_The%20Basic%20Law%20of%20Human%20Stupidity.pdf
265
postitpad May 7, 2026 +28
I learned that we can go backwards on vaccine acceptance.
28
Lepang8 May 7, 2026 +42
I mean there are enough people that prefer getting infected than wearing a mask, simply because their ego.
42
Lordhartley May 7, 2026 +102
Reading the article, no we haven't, this virus has made its way thousands of miles across the world in hours.
102
Early-Part-2654 May 7, 2026 +38
when have we ever
38
Oblimix May 7, 2026 +42
Pretty sure it just made the population dumber and more willfully ignorant.
42
lifelink May 7, 2026 +228
For five minutes, can we not have another once-in-a-lifetime event? FOR FIVE MINUTES!
228
SanDiablo May 7, 2026 +351
So glad we have a capable president to deal with a possible worldwide pandemic again.
351
Chance-Day323 May 7, 2026 +171
With Secretary brainworms by his side
171
bpt85 May 7, 2026 +18
Don’t worry at least there’s a World Health Organization the US is a part of to share information and strategize against potential pandemics.
18
pquince1 May 7, 2026 +297
Jesus. Are celebrities gonna start singing “Imagine” again?
297
OgthaChristie May 7, 2026 +38
I hope not.
38
rp-Ubermensch May 7, 2026 +17
How else are we going to make it through if not by giving celebrities the attention they crave? It's what celebrities crave!
17
00notmyrealname00 May 7, 2026 +558
Y'all remember the slow burn of COVID in December 2019? I sure do. Three months later, there were over 100k cases across 100+ countries. Then came the lockdowns, the runs on stupid household items, the panic about contacts and contact tracing. I worked in leadership at a major hospital at the time. I'll tell ya - I still get a thousand yard stare when I think about of some of that shit. Apparently, we've learned nothing about early pandemic prevention, huh? Maybe this time I'll spend it in a cabin in the woods - with a bidet and a lot of video games.
558
ingeniousHax0r May 7, 2026 +224
Yes, but to be fair epidemiology folks were sounding the alarm then. I remember reading about covid in December 2019, so far I don't see the same alarm coming from folks in the know. It might be a matter of time, but this seems to me more like a relatively containable situation like Ebola rather than SARS or Covid
224
Eeate May 7, 2026 +60
Later research confirmed it was already in Europe before december 2019. Nobody was ready for it
60
aleksoko May 7, 2026 +1082
why was the infected passenger even allowed on the plane?
1082
thombo-1 May 7, 2026 +1624
I can't get my head around this decision. She was already sick to the extent that she collapsed and died on arrival. Her husband, with whom she'd shared a confined space for an extensive period of time, had already died. We have already experienced a global pandemic in very recent living memory and so many people just took zero lessons from it.
1624
EstablishmentFull797 May 7, 2026 +611
Excuse me, but what the f***?
611
ryan30z May 7, 2026 +452
Just going off that is misleading. She boarded the plane and was removed before it departed. Someone being sick enough to get on a plane but then removed before it departs is pretty common. She was basically told to leave as soon as the crew noticed her. No one knew about the virus at the time. A 69 year old man seemingly dying of a respiratory virus on a cruise isn't going to throw up any immediate red flag.
452
thombo-1 May 7, 2026 +240
She already took a flight *before* the second flight where she was removed, and that's the first flight I referred to in my initial comment. How do you think she made it to Johannesburg from St Helena, by swimming?
240
Atkena2578 May 7, 2026 +49
I think they didn't know that her husband had died of this specific virus at that point, he was almost 70yo and that happens to die from a random virus like noro or influenza at that age even if unfortunate
49
Golden_Hour1 May 7, 2026 +76
They didnt take zero lessons, they took the wrong lessons. Survivorship bias is a real thing
76
MagsClouds May 7, 2026 +173
Because no-one knew about any virus back then. Her husband died of what seemed like pneumonia complications. She was traveling with his remains from St Helena. That was I think 4 weeks ago. Only when she got sick and died too, the medics started looking into possible connection. And only few days ago the hantavirus was found. They were looking for legionella contamination and possibility of avian flue after legionella fell flat. So yeah... no-one knew anything suspicius had happened. Sad, yes, but not suspicious.
173
Estake May 7, 2026 +73
Yeah this listnook thread is hard to read. So many people acting like they would've known a month ago that this sick looking woman was carrying a deadly virus.
73
vitaminhoe May 7, 2026 +23
People like to point fingers in cases like these because they are scared - they are angry at the circumstances causing the outbreak and want someone to blame. Add in poor media coverage and poor health literacy, and yup it’s all the new widow’s fault. Humans love a scapegoat.
23
pied_goose May 7, 2026 +39
Nobody knew she was infected with anything as she was actually the first conformed case.
39
No-Salt7142 May 7, 2026 +135
She wasn't. The KLM crew asked her to leave the plane (but after she boarded) when they noticed her condition. That makes it more worrying IMO. Because unless the attendant physically touched her (the woman was probably in pretty bad condition), it would have been a relatively brief contact and transmission via air or a minimal amount of saliva. It has yet to be confirmed that she actually has Hantavirus though, apparently she has "mild symptoms." That could also be a flu or cold.
135
ReferentiallySeethru May 7, 2026 +29
I do wonder if the attendant maybe helped her off the plane or into a wheelchair.
29
Hungry-Kale600 May 7, 2026 +93
Apparently at the time they hadn't tested and didn't know it was the virus.
93
BassyTobe May 7, 2026 +298
If that virus ever reaches the US with the current administration in place you can kiss your ass goodbye.
298
pau-hana-time May 7, 2026 +60
Have I got some [news](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/05/06/health-authorities-monitor-potential-hantavirus-infections/89971049007/) for you.
60
bbusiello May 7, 2026 +25
45 day incubation period. Oof.
25
acornfox May 7, 2026 +13
Do you have an article that breaks down who disembarked when? I don’t understand how some passengers are already back in the US; I thought only the sick passengers disembarked and everyone else is still on the ship and it’s not docking till Saturday.
13
mushy-shart-walk May 7, 2026 +348
What can the smart people do to protect themselves from this? Wear red hats? Inject bleach? I’m all out of ideas.
348
Pippi-ki-yay May 7, 2026 +179
I did my own research and concluded that eating roadkill is best. It also cures cancer.
179
4RealzReddit May 7, 2026 +40
I believe you start at the raccoons p****.
40
DameonKormar May 7, 2026 +57
Make sure you yell at retail workers just trying to do their jobs without contracting a deadly virus.
57
magneticnorth_SWEDEN May 7, 2026 +362
A flight attendant. Who greats people & hand out snacks all day for two weeks between beeing in contact and getting hospitalized.
362
Cirkelzaag May 7, 2026 +82
She probably would not have been contagious in these 2 weeks. But maybe for a 1 day? Also, we don't know how many days she worked in these weeks.
82
magneticnorth_SWEDEN May 7, 2026 +13
Yeah not blaming the person, just the job position that is non optimal. Since its not airborn and its droplets, handing over objects is not great. If its not contagious for 2 weeks that helps, but its still probably 100s of people who got a pepsi can from that person.
13
OccidoViper May 7, 2026 +587
Yea if this Hantavirus lands in a MAGA state, we are cooked lol.
587
NotSoAwfulName May 7, 2026 +515
"AnD yOu KnOw ThE sTuDiEs ShOwEd ThAt iF yOu DrInK cAt UrINe TwIcE a DaY yOu BuIlD a NaTuRaL iMmUnIsAtIoN bEcAuSe CaTs ArE nAtuRaL pReDaToRs oF mIcE" - RFK in two months time.
515
Accurate_Result5427 May 7, 2026 +70
I read that in his raspy voice...
70
Only_One_Left_Foot May 7, 2026 +44
Raspy? Homeboy rattles like a V8 with 3 working cylinders. 
44
Teledildonic May 7, 2026 +11
He sounds like throat cancer Not like he *has* throat cancer, but like if a tumor grew vocal cords and could start speaking.
11
Joltie May 7, 2026 +82
Though, at least I'd look forward to the reactivation of the Herman Cain Award, no matter how serious this virus is, we can count on Trump followers to become prime recipients of the award.
82
illusion4969 May 7, 2026 +41
It will be an absolute shitshow Unlike Covid this has a case fatality rate of up to 40%
41
SockApprehensive6602 May 7, 2026 +90
Feel like I’ve seen this somewhere….. ready for round 2?
90
Wise-Field-7353 May 7, 2026 +54
No boss, I'm tired. Round one never even stopped
54
Immediate_Highway_80 May 7, 2026 +126
So this is how it starts… all over again.
126
Loreathan May 7, 2026 +67
"first symptoms showing can range from a few days to up to 60 days. On average, it takes two to four weeks for symptoms to start showing." This sounds very bad
67
badhouseplantbad May 7, 2026 +83
*Madagascar has closed its port*
83
UlteriorMotive66 May 7, 2026 +20
SHIT! I knew I should've un-mutated that coughing symptom sooner! 😑
20
Accurate_Result5427 May 7, 2026 +11
*Greenland* has also closed its port.
11
unbanned_lol May 7, 2026 +25
It sure would be cool if governments weren't so polite to people potentially causing the outbreaks of pandemics. They can say stuff like "Hey, I see that you've spent some time around someone **WITH THE F****** HANTAVIRUS** let's chill right here for a few months. Don't worry, we will provide you with everything you need to live."
25
[deleted] May 7, 2026 +53
[removed]
53
spencermiddleton May 7, 2026 +40
I’ve come to cough on you again…
40
HasGreatVocabulary May 7, 2026 +28
it's time to quarantine again because a virus softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping and the virus that was planted in that plane still remains
28
4nickk May 7, 2026 +67
ive been preparing for this moment, licking doorknobs for the last 6 years, the virus fears me
67
Grouchy-Extent9002 May 7, 2026 +26
You and my toddler will be immune
26
scytob May 7, 2026 +43
What’s concerning is it says it can take up to 60 days to show symptoms and passengers will be let off ship if the show no symptoms. Shouldn’t it be when they have been tested….. ?
43
Specialist-Bee-9406 May 7, 2026 +70
Time to watch *Contagion* again.  
70
Milnoc May 7, 2026 +29
Or time for a sequel with what we now know about pandemics and human behaviour? It could be one of those rare times where the sequel is better than the original.
29
Tier0001 May 7, 2026 +25
Contagion already did a pretty good job of it honestly. They even got the conspiracy theorist grifter who used the pandemic for his own gain by undermining medical professionals and trying to sell his own "cure" to his dumb followers. It's incredible how accurate they were and that movie came out years before covid.
25
Bart_deblob May 7, 2026 +370
Here it comes folks. Was nice knowing you all.
370
Sad-Platypus-48 May 7, 2026 +177
Even me?
177
dextracin May 7, 2026 +239
Especially you Sad-Platypus28
239
Sad-Platypus-48 May 7, 2026 +152
Thanks bro. I'm not longer a sad platypus but a mildly content one.
152
Shas_Erra May 7, 2026 +141
Fuuuuuuuuuck How have we not learned this shit?
141
Healthy_Pen_7683 May 7, 2026 +16
this shit needs to be taken way more seriously than corona..
16
punkerster101 May 7, 2026 +86
This seems to be spreading easier than they would suggest
86
[deleted] May 7, 2026 +66
[removed]
66
a_passionate_man May 7, 2026 +37
Just with a mortality rate of about 30%
37
Boxofmagnets May 7, 2026 +31
And an incubation period of up to eight weeks. Incredible. Thank god we have Trump and Kennedy to lead us through this potential disaster
31
Golden_Hour1 May 7, 2026 +48
The mortality rate is so high either people take it seriously this time or Darwin solves everything
48
cainrok May 7, 2026 +110
It’s out. We are screwed. Why they even let them off is beyond me.
110
GBF_Dragon May 7, 2026 +10
It's a real shame these infected people weren't on like a big ship at sea that could be quarantined easily.
10
NinjaChore May 7, 2026 +11
great time for a lockdown, gas prices are way too high.
11
Bexity May 7, 2026 +25
So far we have heard that its rarely transmitted by human-human contact. Then well okay THIS strain is human to human BUT you have to be very close and prolonged contact. This attendant was only in contact for a few moments before the passenger was removed. Now how many other people was she in prolonged contact with during the whole flight to Amsterdam?
25
RealBug56 May 7, 2026 +40
Could just be a regular cold, they haven’t confirmed a hantavirus infection yet. The first stages are fever, fatigue and muscle aches, which could also be a million other things. It’s good that they’re taking this seriously, but maybe we shouldn’t panic just yet.
40
SeeThatThing May 7, 2026 +48
Sorry for victim blaming, but the fact the woman was so sick they had to ask her to disembark? Like why did she even board that flight, this is crazy
48
FeelingParty866 May 7, 2026 +49
It is already crazy how many people go to public places while with a regular flu, it has become so normalised that most people - even if very sick - don't seem to care abour infecting others with it. Only in retrospect finding out that it isn't any regular illness people care about sick people going to public places to infect others.
49
dieselreboot May 7, 2026 +77
this doesn’t seem to gel with what’s going on right now. the speed of transmission seems faster. what is going on right now? time for a run to the supermarket for hand sanitizer and loo paper or too soon? >According to the RIVM, the time between a hantavirus infection and the first symptoms showing can range from a few days to up to 60 days. On average, it takes two to four weeks for symptoms to start showing.
77
shiguruku May 7, 2026 +94
The woman died on April 26th, I believe, making it just under two weeks from this attendant’s contact. It fits right within the expected timeframe of a hantavirus infection (two weeks is generally regarded as the average, as you pointed out. Extreme incubations like the 8 week period are uncommon).
94
pied_goose May 7, 2026 +23
The contact would have happened two weeks ago (April 25th iirc)
23
Sora-Umi May 7, 2026 +20
It's been nearly two weeks since the KLM flight
20
Dixa May 7, 2026 +38
How did they get off the boat?
38
Tobias---Funke May 7, 2026 +155
Usually there is a ramp.
155
pied_goose May 7, 2026 +55
This is about the woman who was the first confirmed case and second death. They got off because nobody knew this was an infectious disease before she died.
55
taterrrtotz May 7, 2026 +28
I’ll see you guys in 2 weeks ✌🏾
28
[deleted] May 7, 2026 +28
[removed]
28
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