Indonesia revises SARS death report<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A Taiwanese thought to be the first person to die from Severe
\nAcute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Indonesia died from a heart
\nattack, the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization
\n(WHO) said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
"The autopsy and pathological tests proved that the person
\ndied of heart failure," ministry verification team spokesman
\nSjafii Ahmad said.<\/p>\n
"We indeed found an indication of lung infection, but it was
\nrelated to his heart problem. Actually, before he was suspected
\nof having SARS, he had suffered from a heart problem."<\/p>\n
Indonesia had earlier put the 56-year-old businessman among
\nits suspected SARS cases.<\/p>\n
The man arrived from Taipei on April 17 and was admitted on
\nApril 23 to Husada Hospital in Central Jakarta with a fever and
\nheart problems. The hospital later transferred him to Sulianti
\nSaroso Infectious Diseases Hospital (RSPI) in North Jakarta,
\nwhere he died one hour after receiving treatment.<\/p>\n
Sjafii said the man's body had been cremated.<\/p>\n
WHO technical officer in Jakarta, Mark Brooks, confirmed the
\nman was not a SARS victim.<\/p>\n
"It's based on the autopsy result, which just came out today,"
\nBrooks said, as quoted by AFP, adding it was involved in the
\nexamination.<\/p>\n
WHO had excluded the man from the list of probable SARS cases.
\nOfficially, Indonesia has reported two probable cases.<\/p>\n
The first was a Briton who had been treated in RSPI and later
\ndischarged as his condition had improved. However, he fled to
\nHong Kong without informing Indonesia's health authorities.<\/p>\n
The second is still being treated in Adam Malik Hospital,
\nMedan, North Sumatra. His condition is reportedly improving.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, one new potential case was admitted to RSPI.<\/p>\n
The Taiwanese government, meanwhile, announced two new SARS
\ndeaths, including a 26-year-old Indonesian female contracted to
\ntake care of patients in the northern city of Keelung.<\/p>\n
Her body would be cremated in 24 hours, a health official told
\nAFP.<\/p>\n
WHO's April 29 report on probable global SARS cases showed
\n5,462 people had been infected, 353 of whom had died.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, 201 people have been infected and 24 have died.<\/p>\n
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said Wednesday that the
\nSingaporean government had been implementing tight measures to
\ncurb the spread of SARS, standards beyond those of WHO.<\/p>\n
Herman Susanto, a businessman who just arrived from Singapore
\non Tuesday, told the Post that spread of SARS had slowed in
\nSingapore thanks to the standards.<\/p>\n
"The country's government installed temperature scanners in
\nChangi Airport. They also used news media effectively to raise
\npeople's awareness of the disease," he said.<\/p>\n
Citing an example, he said the Singapore government, using the
\nmedia, had told people to take care when visiting a particular
\ndrugstore and shopping center after a new SARS patient admitted
\nto having visited them.<\/p>\n
Another traveler said he was appalled that he was not
\nsubjected to any testing at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
\nafter arriving from Singapore on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the United States government is donating 5,000 N-95
\nrespirator face masks to help Indonesia combat the spread of
\nSARS.<\/p>",
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