Indonesia monitors foreigner linked to cruise ship hantavirus scare
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
A passenger of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius leaving on a military bus after disembarking on the island of Tenerife in Spain on May 11.
PHOTO: AFP
Indonesia is monitoring a foreigner identified as a close contact of a suspected hantavirus case linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, as health authorities in Jakarta urge the public to remain vigilant amid concerns over the spread of the disease beyond Europe.
Britain’s International Health Regulation National Focal Point alerted Indonesia’s Health Ministry on May 7 about the individual, who lives in Indonesia, said Dr Andi Saguni, acting director-general for disease prevention and control.
The man – an employee of an overseas company in Jakarta whose identity and nationality were not disclosed – travelled on the Hondius and reportedly shared a hotel in St Helena and a flight to Johannesburg with the suspected patient, Dr Andi told reporters.
The Jakarta Globe, citing ministry officials, said the individual came into close contact with a 69-year-old Dutch woman who later died.
The woman, who died on April 26 in a Johannesburg hospital, is considered the second confirmed case linked to the Hondius incident. Her 70-year-old husband, who died on April 11, is considered the first patient.
The third fatality is a German woman who died on May 2 on board the Hondius. Her body is still on the ship, which is expected to arrive in Rotterdam on May 17.
Dr Andi said the man is under observation at a Jakarta hospital. The individual is in stable condition, has shown no symptoms and tested negative for the virus, he said.
Indonesian health authorities launched an investigation and coordinated with multiple agencies on May 8, he added.
The Health Ministry said there have been no additional hantavirus cases detected in Indonesia linked to the cruise ship.
Two suspected cases in Jakarta and Yogyakarta were later ruled negative after laboratory testing.
The rodent-borne disease had been detected in Indonesia in the past two years, with dozens of people infected.
According to Health Ministry data, Indonesia has recorded 23 confirmed hantavirus cases out of 251 suspected cases since 2024, including three deaths.
Five cases have been found so far in 2026, although officials said none were connected to the Hondius incident or involved recent overseas travel.
The authorities also said no human-to-human transmission cases have been reported in Indonesia, where the Seoul strain is the type most commonly detected.
The strain linked to the Hondius is the Andes strain, which is also the one that can be passed from person to person.
Heading home
The Hondius headed to the Netherlands on May 12 after its last passengers disembarked in Spain’s Canary Islands, with at least seven of the evacuees testing positive for the virus.
Besides the three deaths, seven other cases have been confirmed and an eighth is listed as “probable”, according to the World Health Organization and certain national health authorities.
No vaccines or specific treatments exist for the virus, but health officials have said the risk to the public is low and dismissed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic.
