Health Ministry Monitors Hantavirus Exposure

Zimbabwean health authorities have placed three healthcare workers under quarantine and active monitoring after their return from Ascension Island. Health officials identified the workers as contacts of a confirmed hantavirus case while abroad. Although all three tested negative for the virus and remain asymptomatic, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has initiated a 45-day observation period as a precautionary measure. Minister Douglas Mombeshora confirmed that the government is on high alert, though no cases of the disease have been recorded within Zimbabwe. The government used a private charter flight to repatriate the workers due to limited isolation capacity on the island. Port Health Services screened the individuals upon their arrival at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. The government continues to reassure the public that surveillance systems are active.