Team sent to probe Wamena epidemic<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government has sent a medical team to Irian
\nJaya villages where an epidemic, marked with vomiting up blood
\nand respiratory problems, has reportedly killed 177 people.<\/p>\n
Hadi M. Abednego of the Ministry of Health, said yesterday
\nthat the team, consisting of two doctors and five paramedics, has
\nbeen sent to Brome and Ndugwa villages, Wamena district,
\nJayawijaya regency, to investigate the cause and actual number of
\nvictims of the epidemic known locally as wabah babi.<\/p>\n
The term literally means \"pig epidemic\" and was reportedly
\ncaused by a virus spread by pigs. It was not immediately clear
\nwhen the epidemic first broke out and the deaths occurred.<\/p>\n
Hadi, who is director general of Communicable Disease Control
\nand Environmental Health, however, admitted he was not certain
\nwhether pigs caused the fatalities.<\/p>\n
\"The cause could be anything, from dengue, diarrhea, poor
\nsanitation or any virus from local animals, such as pigs,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Head of the provincial health office, Slamet S. Harjosuwarno,
\nalso said he could not confirm whether there really was an
\nepidemic or whether it was caused by pigs.<\/p>\n
He also could not say whether the fatalities were as high as
\nreported. He suspected that it was really a disease of the
\nrespiratory tract that affected the villagers.<\/p>\n
Kompas daily reported yesterday that 177 people have died in
\nthe epidemic, the symptoms of which were difficulty in breathing
\nand vomiting up blood. It quoted Jayawijaya Regent JB Wenas as
\nsaying that medical help arrived too late because the reports
\ncame in too late.<\/p>\n
Due to the lack of telecommunication facilities, reports of
\nthe epidemic reached the local health authorities through
\ncouriers who had to travel through difficult terrain.<\/p>\n
Wenas said on Monday that the report of the deaths of 120
\nBrome residents reached him on Friday, while the report on the
\nremaining 57 fatalities in Ndugwa came on Monday.<\/p>\n
He added that a local doctor in Brome, another from Oksibil
\ndistrict as well as a paramedic worked to help the victims.<\/p>\n
When asked about the small number of doctors and paramedics
\nsent, given the magnitude of the problem, Hadi said that the
\nministry is quite familiar with the region and its problems.<\/p>\n
The ministry, he said, has conducted a number of health
\nsurveys there and concluded that \"the most important thing is the
\nquality of the team\".<\/p>\n
He criticized the Kompas report because it failed to say the
\nperiod during which the epidemic and the deaths took place and,
\ntherefore, created public panic.<\/p>\n
\"Did the 177 deaths occur in two months, a year, or longer?\"
\nhe said. (31)<\/p>",
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