Understanding Hantavirus and the Threat That Need Not Be Overly Feared

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The world is currently abuzz with the Hantavirus infection following several individuals experiencing severe respiratory distress during an international cruise voyage, leading to deaths on the MV Hondius cruise ship operated by Oceanwide Expeditions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) records that at least three people have died from Hantavirus infection out of five confirmed cases.

Two of them were a husband-and-wife couple who were on an international trip to study birds.

They had previously travelled to Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, regions associated with the Andes virus, one of the 40 Hantavirus variants worldwide.

Meanwhile, another person who was declared dead was a woman from Germany.

Several countries then imposed isolation on their citizens who disembarked from the MV Hondius. Those countries include the United Kingdom, the United States (US), and Indonesia’s close neighbour, Singapore.

Nevertheless, is it necessary to worry excessively about the potential spread of this virus?

The man, familiarly known as Domi, stated that the public need not fear excessively, considering that this virus is not actually a new one.

The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) itself has recorded the presence of Hantavirus in Indonesia since 2015.

According to Kemenkes data, there are 23 people confirmed positive for the Seoul variant of Hantavirus throughout 2024-2026.

That number is spread across nine provinces in the country, including six cases in DKI Jakarta, six cases in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), five cases in West Java, and one case each in West Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, West Sumatra, Banten, East Java, and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

“We shouldn’t be that afraid of Hanta, but we must not be complacent. Hanta virus is something we’ve known for quite a while. It’s not a new virus, not a new virus. It’s usually carried by rodents. The most common is rats,” said Domi.

Andes is the only Hantavirus variant that can spread from person to person through close contact.

This virus is carried by the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, which typically lives in South America and causes HCPS.

“How severe the Andes is; in 2018-2019, there were three people who came into contact with rats and then spread it to 34 others, and out of those 34, a third (11 people) died. That’s what happened back then in Argentina,” said Domi.