Bali increases surveillance for hantavirus

DENPASAR - The authorities in Bali have increased their surveillance of hantavirus on the tourism island with all entry gates into the island being tightly monitored.

The Bali Health Agency gave an assurance that no case of suspected hantavirus had yet been found in Bali.

However, surveillance and prevention measures have been strengthened after several suspected hantavirus cases were found in other regions in Indonesia.

“There has been no case or suspected case of hantavirus detected in Bali so far,” agency head I Nyoman Gede Anom said in a statement on May 19.

He added that all entry gates into Bali were tightly monitored.

“We’re taking preventive measures by strengthening surveillance at all Bali’s entry points including seaports and airports,” he said.

The health agency has increased coordination with health agencies and medical facilities across Bali to closely monitor any people with severe cold symptoms that had contact with rats or dirty environments.

The agency has also tightened the screening of Indonesians working abroad, including those working on cruise ships, when they return to Bali.

“We’re also educating people about how to implement clean and healthy behavior in daily life,” Mr Gede Anom added.

The agency has also coordinated with the Health Ministry to monitor real time developments with regard to the virus across Indonesia.

Mr Gede Anom emphasised that all people on the island should increase their vigilance over the virus.

“Early symptoms of hantavirus resemble severe flu, including fever, dizziness and muscle pain,” he said.

“In certain cases, the infection can cause serious respiratory problems.”

To prevent the virus infecting humans, the agency has urged all people to maintain the cleanliness of their homes and the environment to control the rat population.

People are also urged to be careful when cleaning houses or business premises that have been abandoned for a length of time.

Residents are urged to use masks and gloves when cleaning their homes, and also not to sweep dry rat droppings to prevent their dust from becoming airborne.

“We urge people who have fever and muscle pain after having contact with a potential rat environment to get medical checks in the nearest clinic,” Gede Anom added.

Hantavirus is a zoonotic virus that naturally infects rodents and is occasionally transmitted to humans, according to the World Health Organization.

The virus can infect humans through contact with rat droppings, urine or saliva.

The government is stepping up its vigilance against hantavirus by intensifying screening measures at international entry points following the discovery of a person in Jakarta who had close contact with a confirmed case in the virus outbreak on board the MV Hondius cruise ship, The Jakarta Post reported on May 13.

The Health Ministry later identified a 60-year-old male British national residing in Central Jakarta as the close contact of a positive case.

He stayed at the same accommodation as the second confirmed hantavirus case on board the Hondius.

The two also sat next to each other on a flight from St Helena to Johannesburg before the British man travelled on to Indonesia.

He arrived in Jakarta on April 30 and immediately underwent self-isolation.

Polymerase chain reaction tests conducted on the man soon returned negative results for two strains of hantavirus, including one previously found in Indonesia. THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK