More threated for possible anthrax<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor<\/p>\n
Two more people from the village of Citaringul, a woman and nine-
\nyear-old girl, were admitted to the Cibinong Hospital on Sunday
\nafter they ate goat meat suspected of being infected with
\nanthrax.<\/p>\n
Erna Aryanti, 9, and Siti Mariam, 44, are the 10th and 11th
\npeople suspected of contracting anthrax after eating the meat
\nfrom a sick goat on Oct. 14, a day before the beginning of
\nRamadhan. Six of the 11 people who ate the meat have died.<\/p>\n
\"We are still studying if the last two patients died because
\nof anthrax,\" a doctor with the hospital, Wahju Kurdijanti, said.
\nBlood samples from the patients were being examined by the
\nVeterinary Research Agency, he said.<\/p>\n
However, new Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyanto had no
\ndoubts the disease was anthrax. On a visit to the district on
\nSunday, he ordered the burning of goat pens and the slaughter of
\nall goats in the district in an effort to eradicate the fatal
\nvirus.<\/p>\n
\"I don't want more villagers fall victim to anthrax. I don't
\nwant this case to reoccur. This problem has been going on for
\nquite some time so I have asked the relevant agencies to take
\naction,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Anton, a former lecturer with the Bogor Institute of
\nAgriculture (IPB) in Babakan Madang, said anthrax had been
\nendemic in the area for some time. The district should be
\nquarantined to stop the spread of disease, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Officials must inform villagers that they should not consume
\nsick cattle because it is very risky. They must also vaccinate
\nother cattle that have not yet been infected by anthrax,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Data from the Bogor Health Agency recorded that since 2001, 47
\npeople have suffered from anthrax in the area and 11 people have
\ndied, including the last six fatalities.<\/p>\n
Agency head Djono Kardjoeki said a special investigation had
\nconcluded about 60 Citaringul villagers were suffering from
\nanthrax. Twenty-two of the villagers had recovered from the
\ndisease, he said.<\/p>",
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