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View all search resultsIndonesia on alert for hantavirus amid European cruise outbreak
Indonesia has detected 23 cases of hantavirus infections since 2024, with recent cases in Jakarta and Yogyakarta were assumed to have no connections with the outbreak on board of a European cruise ship.
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A test tube labelled 'Hantavirus positive' is held in this illustration taken on May 7, 2026. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic)
I
ndonesian health authorities and doctors have called for people to remain vigilant amid the outbreak of illnesses caused by the hantavirus infection on board a cruise ship in Europe, as suspected cases spread to other regions including Asia.
Concerns about the zoonotic virus surfaced following reports obtained by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 2 about several passengers aboard Dutch vessel MV Hondius suffering from severe respiratory illness.
At least six of eight suspected cases from the cruise ship were later laboratory-confirmed as the hantavirus infections, WHO announced on Friday as reported by AFP. All confirmed cases were identified as being infected by the Andes strain of the virus, which is known to cause limited human-to-human transmission among close and prolonged contact primarily in Argentina and Chile.
Among passengers of the cruise ship were two Singaporean residents who were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case. They traveled from Saint Helena to Johannesburg on April 25, according to Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA), AFP reported.
The confirmed case did not travel to Singapore and died in South Africa. The two Singaporeans later tested negative for the viral disease after being quarantined since early May after arriving in the city-state. They would remain in quarantine for 30 days from the date of last exposure and were to be tested again before being released.
Hantaviruses refer to zoonotic viruses that naturally infect rodents and are occasionally transmitted to humans, according to WHO. Transmission to humans occurs from contact with contaminated urine, droppings, saliva or, sometimes, bites of infected rodents.
