Two Suspected Hantavirus Cases in Indonesia Declared Negative

The Head of the Bureau of Communication and Public Information at the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), Aji Muhawarman, noted that two recently detected suspected hantavirus cases in Indonesia have been declared negative and the patients have recovered. Hantavirus has come under renewed scrutiny following its spread on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, which was sailing in Cape Verde, Africa, resulting in three deaths. “The two suspects, today’s information indicates they are negative and have recovered,” Aji said when contacted on Friday (7/5). However, Aji has not disclosed the areas of spread. Meanwhile, Kemenkes revealed that hantavirus is not a new case, including in Indonesia. They recorded a total of 23 hantavirus cases from 2024 to early 2026. Of that number, three were reported as fatalities. Kemenkes disclosed that hantavirus cases over the past two years were spread across nine provinces, with DIY and DKI Jakarta recording the highest number at six cases each. The rest were distributed as follows: one case in West Sumatra, one in Banten, one in West Kalimantan, five in West Java, one in East Java, one in NTT, and one in North Sulawesi. According to Kemenkes, all confirmed cases were infected with the Seoul variant of hantavirus. By year, the highest number of cases was recorded in 2025 with 17 cases, one in 2024, and five cases up to mid-2026. The WHO describes hantavirus as a group of zoonotic viruses that naturally infect rodents such as rats and occasionally transmit to humans. Human infections can cause serious illness, particularly respiratory and kidney disorders, depending on the virus type. Hantavirus is not a newly discovered virus in recent years. A research review published in the journal Viruses in 2019 stated that hantavirus research in Indonesia has been conducted since 1984.