Bali Health Agency responds after U.S. issues Zika travel notice

Denpasar — Bali’s provincial health authorities have moved to reassure travelers after the United States issued a Zika-related travel health notice for Bali in early August, saying routine local surveillance has not found any confirmed Zika cases on the island to date, while U.S. guidance continues to urge enhanced precautions for visitors.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted a Level 2 "Practice Enhanced Precautions" Travel Health Notice for Zika in Indonesia on 7 August 2026, specifically citing cases reported in travelers returning from Bali.

On 10 August 2026, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta issued a health alert highlighting the CDC notice and advising travelers to Bali to prevent mosquito bites and follow CDC guidance, with particular emphasis on pregnant travelers and those planning pregnancy.

Following the U.S. warning, Bali’s Health Agency stated that its routine surveillance of hospitals and health facilities across the province had not identified any laboratory-confirmed Zika cases originating on the island.

According to Bali Health Agency head I Nyoman Gede Anom, surveillance data from district health offices and hospitals throughout Bali showed no confirmed Zika infections as of Monday, 24 August 2026.

Indonesian national health authorities have similarly said they have not received reports of Zika cases from Bali, even as they acknowledged the CDC notice based on infections in travelers after trips to the island.

What the U.S. advisory says

The CDC’s Level 2 notice for Indonesia advises all travelers to Bali to use EPA-registered insect repellent, wear long sleeves and long trousers where possible, and stay in accommodation with window screens or air conditioning to reduce mosquito exposure.

The advisory and related explanations from U.S. sources state that pregnant people should avoid travel to Bali while the notice is in effect, given Zika’s known risks in pregnancy, and that those planning pregnancy should follow recommended waiting periods after potential exposure.

U.S. guidance also calls for measures to prevent sexual transmission of Zika during and after travel, including condom use and adherence to post-travel timeframes before attempting conception.

How Bali authorities describe local surveillance

Bali’s Health Agency says its routine surveillance system reviews data from regency and city health offices and hospitals across the island to look for Zika cases.

Officials have publicly emphasized that, based on this surveillance, they have "not yet" found confirmed Zika infections in Bali, while acknowledging that suspected cases could be monitored and that assessments would continue.

Reports citing provincial authorities indicate that surveillance focuses on clinical and laboratory indicators gathered from health facilities, rather than on travelers diagnosed after leaving Indonesia.

Messages aimed at visitors

Local and regional media coverage describes Bali’s tourism and health officials as seeking to reassure international visitors after the CDC notice, stressing that no confirmed cases have been detected locally while encouraging standard mosquito-avoidance measures.

These reports note that provincial authorities reviewed surveillance data in response to the U.S. alert and said they would continue monitoring, positioning the CDC warning as a prompt for caution rather than a signal of an established outbreak on the island.

Independent travel-health explainers have underlined that a Level 2 notice is not a travel ban but a call for enhanced precautions, and that risk assessments weigh both infections detected in travelers and the absence of confirmed local cases in Bali so far.

Regional surveillance context

The World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Regional Office describes its dengue surveillance in the region as combining indicator-based and event-based monitoring to track trends and identify unusual signals, illustrating how mosquito-borne diseases can be followed over time.

That dengue-focused framework does not provide Bali-specific Zika numbers, but it highlights why any statement based on surveillance needs to be read as evidence of what has been detected so far, not as proof that transmission is impossible or that risk is zero.

For now, publicly available information establishes that U.S. health authorities have issued a precautionary notice for Bali based on cases in returning travelers, and that Indonesian officials report no confirmed Zika infections detected by routine surveillance on the island to date, leaving ongoing risk assessment and travel decisions to updated official guidance from both sides.

Sources

• Deep Arrival explainer on CDC Zika notice for Bali
• IDN Times explainer on CDC Travel Health Notice Level 2 Zika for Bali
• U.S. Embassy Jakarta health alert, August 10, 2026
• U.S. Embassy Jakarta X (Twitter) post on Bali Zika health alert
• DetikHealth article on CDC Zika Travel Alert Level 2 for Bali
• Asia News Network article on Bali playing down Zika concerns after CDC travel health warning
• RCTI+ / IDXChannel report on CDC Travel Health Notice about Zika in Bali
• World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office