Indonesia Deploys 21 Sentinel Hospitals for Hantavirus Detection

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Health Ministry is preparing 21 sentinel hospitals across 20 provinces to strengthen surveillance and detect potential cases of HFRS-type hantavirus following concerns linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship cluster.

Acting Director General for Disease Prevention and Control Andi Saguni said the government moved quickly after receiving information about a Jakarta-based foreign national who had close contact with a hantavirus patient aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.

In addition to the sentinel hospitals, the ministry has designated 198 referral hospitals to support responses to emerging infectious diseases, including hantavirus.

“The role of these sentinel hospitals is to actively conduct surveillance. If patients are admitted with symptoms such as jaundice, it should not immediately be assumed to be liver disease or leptospirosis,” Andi said during a press conference on Monday, May 11, 2026.

He said jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes, is among the symptoms health authorities are monitoring because it can resemble other illnesses, including liver disorders and leptospirosis.

According to Andi, PCR testing remains essential in distinguishing hantavirus infections from other diseases. He said Indonesia’s diagnostic tools are capable of identifying different hantavirus strains.

“This PCR test is crucial. If the result is positive, whether it is the HFRS type or HPS type, we need further strain identification through the test,” he said.

Andi explained that the hantavirus strain previously detected in Indonesia differs from the virus linked to the MV Hondius outbreak, which occurred during a voyage from Argentina to Spain.

The hantavirus identified in Indonesia belongs to the Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) type associated with the Seoul virus strain. Meanwhile, the MV Hondius cases involved Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) linked to the Andes virus strain.

The Health Ministry heightened surveillance after receiving notification from the International Health Regulation National Focal Point (IHR NFP) in the United Kingdom regarding a foreign national living in Jakarta who had close contact with a confirmed hantavirus patient aboard the ship.

“On May 7, 2026, at 09:55 PM Western Indonesia Time, the IHR NFP of the UK notified Indonesia about one close contact residing in Indonesia,” Andi said.

The 60-year-old foreign national, identified by the initials KE, reportedly stayed at the same hotel and traveled on the same flight as a 69-year-old female passenger who later died from hantavirus.

According to Andi, KE was aboard the MV Hondius between late March and April 2026. He disembarked in Saint Helena on April 24 and stayed at the same hotel as the confirmed patient before flying to Johannesburg and later continuing to Zimbabwe.

The ministry conducted an epidemiological investigation one day after receiving the report. Initial examinations found that the individual showed no hantavirus symptoms.

PCR tests on five specimens — including serum, urine, saliva, throat swabs, and blood samples — also returned negative results.

“The PCR test results were negative for hantavirus. This close contact lives alone, has minimal interaction with others, understands the situation well, and has shown no symptoms,” Andi said.

Despite the negative test results, the ministry said KE remains under monitoring and quarantine at Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital.

Read: MV Hondius Contact in Jakarta Tests Negative for Hantavirus

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