Indonesia Ramps Up Hantavirus Screening Amid Cruise Ship Cases

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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Health Ministry (Kemenkes) said it has coordinated with the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen hantavirus screening measures in response to viral reports of infections detected on a cruise ship.

“The cases are still concentrated on that ship, so it has not spread elsewhere. What we are doing is preparing so that we have screening capabilities,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in Jakarta on Thursday.

He added that screening methods could include rapid tests similar to those used during the COVID-19 pandemic, or reagent-based testing used in PCR machines.

For the time being, the ministry is focusing on surveillance efforts to monitor any potential spread.

Earlier, the WHO said on Monday (May 4) that it was working with several countries and cruise operators to manage hantavirus infection cases identified on a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s acting director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, told reporters via video link that as of May 4, six suspected cases had been reported, including three deaths.

She said one patient was being treated in intensive care in South Africa, while two others remained on board the ship and were expected to be evacuated for medical treatment. Around 150 people, including passengers and crew, were aboard the vessel.

The ship is currently located off the coast of Cape Verde. The WHO, together with authorities in Cape Verde and the Netherlands as well as the ship’s operator, is arranging the evacuation of the two patients to the Netherlands, Van Kerkhove said.

Spain’s Health Ministry also said it would receive the MV Hondius cruise ship in the Canary Islands after reports of a hantavirus outbreak on board.

“The World Health Organization, in cooperation with the European Union, has requested the Spanish government to accept the MV Hondius in the Canary Islands,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, May 5.

The WHO has confirmed seven infection cases on the vessel, including three deaths. One patient is currently in intensive care in South Africa.

Read: How Customs Is Guarding Indonesia Against Hantavirus?

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