“If there is an increase in cases of a disease with epidemic potential in another country, quarantine offices will monitor and guard against the disease to prevent it from entering Indonesia,” he said on Wednesday.
He explained that the system is designed to anticipate the spread of viruses from overseas, including through monitoring passenger arrivals from countries considered high-risk.
According to Saguni, the government continues to tighten monitoring of passengers arriving in Indonesia by air and sea, particularly from countries identified as having specific health risks.
The supervision includes body temperature screening using thermal scanners and monitoring for symptoms of illness.
Saguni explained that the data collection is part of Indonesia’s health protection measures at points of entry. If suspicious symptoms are detected, passengers can be immediately referred to designated government hospitals.
He also noted that the hantavirus case identified on the MV Hondius cruise ship involved Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), which differs from the hantavirus cases previously reported in Indonesia.
“HPS is commonly found in the Americas and has never been reported in Indonesia, either in humans or rodents. Meanwhile, hantavirus cases identified in Indonesia involve Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), which has been detected since 1991, particularly the Seoul virus strain,” he said on Monday.
According to him, the HPS case on board the MV Hondius was caused by the Andes virus strain, which several studies suggest may be transmitted between humans through close and prolonged contact.
However, he emphasized that there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission for the HFRS type found in Asia, including Indonesia.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Primayanti
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