New suspected polio case found outside West Java<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Bandung\/Surakarta<\/p>\n
As fears of polio infections grow in the country, another
\npossible case was found in South Kalimantan on Tuesday, bringing
\nthe total suspected cases to 15, with four confirmed sufferers.<\/p>\n
A local health agency in the South Kalimantan regency
\nof Batola reported it had found a new case of acute flaccid
\nparalysis, a possible symptom of polio. The sufferer was from
\nBerangas village, Batola, 45 kilometers away from the South
\nKalimantan capital of Banjarmasin, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Like the previous cases found in Sukabumi, West Java, the
\nlatest finding showed symptoms of decreasing motor ability that
\nusually follow polio infections in children. There were no other
\ndetails.<\/p>\n
Fears of an outbreak have led many worried parents to contact
\nauthorities to check if their children were suffering from
\nparalysis. The parents of three-year-old girl, Lina Eka Setia, of
\nCelep village in Sragen, 90 kilometers east of Yogyakarta, say
\nshe has suffered from paralysis in both her legs for the past 18
\nmonths after a fever, although they admitted she had earlier been
\nvaccinated against polio.<\/p>\n
The girl's mother, Astuti, said her daughter had received full
\nimmunization treatment, including a polio vaccination. She added
\nthat before her legs were paralyzed, Lina had suffered from a
\nprolonged high fever. \"After taking her to the hospital, her
\nright leg got smaller and her foot bent,\" Astuti said.<\/p>\n
The local health agency was still investigating the cause of
\nher paralysis.<\/p>\n
\"The doctor from the local health community center reported
\nthat she was born with paralyzed legs, and it was not caused by
\npolio,\" Sragen health agency head Joko Irnugroho told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Joko said that polio immunization coverage in his area reached
\nan estimated 96 percent of the total infant population.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, a Hasan Sadikin Hospital spokesperson said that
\nthree children who were brought from Sukabumi to the hospital on
\nMonday were likely to be polio-free. The children were taken to
\nthe hospital by the Legal Aid Agency for Health.<\/p>\n
\"Previous laboratory results of their feces specimens are
\nnegative, but we are rechecking them,\" polio treatment team
\nmember Suganda told the Post.<\/p>\n
Siti Fitria, 7, Ismail, 3, and eight-month-old Muhammad Luthfi
\nwere being treated by a team of neuropad specialists to get the
\nnecessary physiotherapy, he said.<\/p>\n
West Java Governor Danny Setiawan regretted the use of force
\nin the transfer of the children to Bandung, expressing fear that
\nsuch an action would spread the virus.<\/p>\n
\"Sukabumi health officers, with support from Hasan Sadikin
\nHospital and the World Health Organization, have done their best
\nby conducting daily monitoring,\" he said. \"There was no need to
\ntake (the children) to Bandung.\"<\/p>\n
The Legal Aid Agency for Health had ignored Sukabumi health
\nofficers' warnings not to send the children to Bandung. Minister
\nof Health Siti Fadilah Supari said on Monday that all people
\nsuspected of having polio should not be moved to other cities to
\nprevent any possible spread of the virus.<\/p>\n
Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, is a highly infectious
\nwater-borne viral disease that invades the nervous system and can
\ncause total paralysis and sometimes death in non-vaccinated
\npeople.<\/p>\n
The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in
\nthe intestines. After an initial infection, the virus is shed
\nintermittently in feces for several weeks. During that period,
\nthe virus can spread rapidly through a community.<\/p>\n
Transmission of the virus by immune and partially immune
\nadults and children is possible, and is more likely to occur in
\ncountries like Indonesia, where sanitation systems are often
\nsubstandard.<\/p>\n
As of April 2005, the organization reported 1,267 global cases
\nof polio, 792 of those in Nigeria. Until the recent cases,
\nIndonesia had been free of polio for 10 years.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-suspected-polio-case-found-outside-west-java-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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