PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will improve the MySejahtera application by providing a hantavirus outbreak tracker through the Disease Tracker menu on the application’s dashboard if needed in the future, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib.
He said the move was to enable users to obtain the latest information regarding the detection of infectious diseases more easily in real time.
“For now, we will see and monitor as much as we can. If necessary, God willing, we will ensure (the detection of hantavirus infection) is included in the MySejahtera application.”
“We hope this matter is under control and will subside because perhaps in terms of experience after COVID-19, we should be more vigilant and we don’t want hantavirus to spread anywhere,” he said after attending the National Level International Nurses Day Celebration 2026 here today.
He said this when asked to comment on whether the Ministry of Health would improve the MySejahtera application by adding hantavirus to the list of diseases that can be monitored through the Disease Tracker menu on the MySejahtera application dashboard, to empower users with access to information on infection hotspots in their surrounding areas in real time.
The list of existing outbreaks on the Disease Tracker menu are dengue, tuberculosis (TB), measles, hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), COVID-19, human rabies and animal rabies.
He said that although there were three deaths and several infections, for now the situation appears to be under control and involves Western countries and has not shown any indication of spread to Asia.
“With close contact with the WHO (World Health Organization) and related organizations, we found that this matter is still under control in the Western countries involved. At present, thank God, it is under control,” he said.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad was recently reported to have said that the Ministry of Health will continue to closely monitor the development of this outbreak at the global and regional levels to ensure that border preparedness and the country’s health system are at the highest level.
Previously, Dzulkefly said hantavirus is a rat-borne virus that can infect humans through air contaminated with the animal’s feces, urine or saliva.
International media reported that European countries are increasing monitoring and isolation measures after a hantavirus outbreak linked to a Dutch cruise ship, MV Hondius.
— BERNAMA
