Health Minister Explains Cause of 'Super Flu' Patient's Death in West Java

January 13, 2026 | 11:22 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said a recent death linked to a reported “super flu” case in Bandung, West Java, was not directly caused by the influenza virus, stressing that the patient had pre-existing medical conditions that worsened their health.

“The patient who died in Bandung had other underlying diseases. The death was not caused by the flu,” Budi said during a virtual press conference on Monday, January 12, 2026.

He explained that the so-called super flu refers to the H3N2 strain of influenza, a long-circulating variant that is different from Covid-19. Unlike Covid-19, which became a global pandemic because it was a novel virus, H3N2 is already familiar to the human immune system.

“If a person is healthy, the immune system should be able to overcome it,” Budi said.

The health minister urged the public not to overreact or equate the current influenza cases with Covid-19. He said the H3N2 strain has a very low fatality rate, although it spreads easily.

“The fatality rate is very low. What is high is the transmission,” he said.

Budi added that viral mutations are a natural process aimed at survival. Viruses with high mortality rates tend to spread more slowly because their hosts die quickly, while viruses that spread rapidly usually cause milder illness.

“The virus also wants to survive. If the host dies quickly, the virus cannot survive either,” he said.

He pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic as an example, noting that the Omicron variant spread much faster than the Delta variant but caused less severe disease. According to him, a similar pattern applies to H3N2 and its current variants.

“The spread is fast, but in reality the fatality rate is low,” Budi said.

Addressing the Bandung case, Budi used an analogy to clarify the cause of death. He said it was similar to someone who has the flu and then dies in a traffic accident.

“If someone has the flu and is then hit by a car, the cause of death is the accident, not the flu,” he said, emphasizing that the patient’s death was triggered by other underlying illnesses rather than the influenza infection itself.

Budi called on the public to remain calm, maintain their health, and avoid panic as flu cases rise. He said the government continues to monitor influenza transmission and ensure the health system is prepared to protect vulnerable groups, particularly those with pre-existing conditions.

Read: IPB Expert Says 'Superflu' Is Not a New Disease

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