Indonesia confirms negative Hantavirus test for contact linked to cruise ship cluster

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Health Ministry confirmed on Monday that a foreign national residing in the country who had close contact with a passenger infected with Hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has tested negative for the virus.

Health Ministry’s Acting Director-General for Disease Control Andi Saguni said the authorities received a notification from the International Health Regulation (IHR) National Focal Point at 9.55pm local time on May 7 regarding a 60-year-old foreign male who resides in Central Jakarta and had close contact with one of the victims.

"He was a close contact of the second case (a 69-year-old woman who died) and had been on the same flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg. He showed no symptoms, but has uncontrolled hypertension and a history of vaping (electronic cigarette use).

"However, based on laboratory results, the patient tested negative for Hantavirus,” he told a press conference on Monday, according to Antara News Agency.

The case is linked to a cluster of acute respiratory illness infections reported aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, which sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and Africa, involving Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) of the Andes strain, known for its high fatality rate and transmission through exposure to rodents.

Andi said the patient nevertheless remains under strict observation and is currently being monitored at the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital.

He said there has been no evidence of rodent-to-human transmission of Hantavirus in Indonesia since the virus was first detected in the country in 1991.

"HPS is commonly found in South America and has never been reported in Indonesia, either in humans or rodents. Meanwhile, Hantavirus cases in Indonesia are of the Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) type, which has been detected since 1991 with the Seoul virus strain,” he said. - BERNAMA