Fact Check: Hantavirus Is Not a Second COVID-19 Pandemic

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - On May 9, 2026, an Instagram account [archive] uploaded a video claiming that the hantavirus is the second COVID-19 pandemic, ready for release.

The video shows a hospital scene claimed to be part of the hantavirus case management process. The footage shows medical personnel wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) hurriedly pushing patients, and several people getting out of ambulances and dancing together.

However, is the hantavirus really the second COVID-19 pandemic?

FACT CHECK

Tempo verified the claim by interviewing virologists, using reverse image searches, and examining credible media reports. The results showed that the hantavirus is different from COVID-19 and therefore not a second pandemic.

Virologist from Gadjah Mada University, Dr. Abdul Rahman Siregar, stated that the hantavirus and SARS-CoV-2, which cause COVID-19, are different, although their initial symptoms are similar. Hantavirus spreads through contact with rodents, not through human-to-human droplets like COVID-19.

Symptoms of both diseases are relatively similar, including fever, headache, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting.

As a zoonotic disease, Abdul said, the most effective prevention currently is controlling direct contact with rats, the virus's host. Environmental cleanliness and sanitation must be maintained to prevent them from becoming a breeding ground for rodents.

However, Abdul warned that the potential for a pandemic remains because this virus can spread through airborne particles.

"Because it is not transmitted from human to human, the rate of spread is very small, not as high as SARS-CoV-2," Abdul Rahman said when contacted by Tempo on Sunday, May 24, 2026.

Hantavirus Case Reports

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded 890 cases of hantavirus in the United States from the start of surveillance in 1993 to the end of 2023. All cases were laboratory-confirmed, including hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) and non-pulmonary hantavirus infections.

According to the WHO, hantavirus infections are relatively rare worldwide. Throughout 2023, Europe reported 1,885 cases. In East Asia, particularly China and South Korea, hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) causes thousands of annual cases, although the number has declined in recent decades.

The mortality rate ranges from less than 1 to 15 percent in Asia and Europe, and up to 50 percent in the Americas. Globally, annual infections are estimated at 10,000 to over 100,000 cases, with the largest burden in Asia and Europe.

In Indonesia, the Ministry of Health recorded 256 suspected cases from 2024 to 2026, with 23 confirmed cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Cases were spread across Jakarta, West Java, Yogyakarta, North Sulawesi, West Sumatra, and East Nusa Tenggara. The trend of confirmations increased from 1 case in 2024 to 17 cases in 2025, and 5 cases through May 2026.

Acting Director General of Disease Control at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Andi Saguni, stated that the surge in case findings was influenced by the strengthening of detection and laboratory capacity. In addition to monitoring domestic cases, the Ministry of Health responded to an international notification regarding a close contact of a HPS case from the cruise ship MV Hondius in Indonesia.

The close contact tested negative for both HPS and HFRS types of hantavirus after undergoing testing at the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital (RSPI Sulianti Saroso).

"As soon as we received the notification, we immediately conducted an epidemiological investigation, cross-sector coordination, laboratory testing, and monitoring of this close contact," said Andi.

Video Verification

Clip 1

This video captures the filming of a commercial for Shamir Medical Center, a hospital in Israel, five years ago. The photographer and cameraman are surrounded by hospital beds and patients. A man is also seen giving instructions to medical staff wearing PPE.

Clip 2

The video shows several people wearing PPE and traditional Jewish clothing dancing together. The post accuses Jews of celebrating their success in engineering the pandemic.

In fact, a reverse image search found the video was posted by the Instagram account of Israeli media outlet Hamal News on July 8, 2020. The video's caption explains that a group of people in hazmat suits arrive at a wedding in an ambulance and dance together.

As quoted by AFP, the emergency medical service that owns the ambulance, Magen David Adom (MDA), stated that no one in the video is affiliated with them except the driver. The personal protective equipment used was obtained from a medical facility in the country's central government that is not affiliated with MDA. The ambulance driver was also off-duty at the time of the incident and has since received a reprimand.

CONCLUSION

Tempo's verification results conclude that the claims that the hantavirus is the second COVID-19 pandemic and that the video is a fabricated hantavirus case management are false.

TEMPO FACT-CHECK TEAM

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