Anthrax blamed for eight deaths in W. Nusa Tenggara

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bogor

At least eight people died in the country's eastern island of Sumbawa supposedly from anthrax, which also infected seven others in the West Java city of Bogor.

The eight victims, aged between seven and 55 years, were found dead after having eaten infected goat meat, Antara news agency reported on Wednesday.

The victims were identified as: Leni, 11; Rua, 55; Evi, 11; Sukarni, 10; Laila, 8; Manan, 7; Ema, 7; and Alia, 50. They were all residents of the village of Lare'u in Donggo subdistrict, about 75 kilometers west of Bima regency in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

It was also reported that another victim, Jumardin, 10, survived the potentially fatal disease.

Ariadi, a spokesman of the Bima administration, was quoted as saying that the eight died on Dec. 18, but reports of their deaths only reached the district capital on Jan. 6.

Health and husbandry officials were immediately sent to the area and meat samples were sent to the NTB capital of Mataram for medical analysis, he said.

Ariadi said that should laboratory results show that anthrax was the cause of death, the local administration would immediately launch a massive immunization program for villagers and animals to prevent the deadly virus from spreading.

Seven people were also suspected of suffering from anthrax in Kadumangu village of the Babakan Madang subdistrict, Bogor.

The victims were apparently infected by the virus after they were exposed to infected goat meat given to them by a neighbor at the end of December. They had been admitted for treatment and were not in serious condition.

One of the victims, Titi, 30, said on Wednesday that she felt pain in her arm, which was swollen with blisters on the skin, and broke out in intermittent high fevers.

Her father, Suminta, who was also infected by the virus, said that Titi became sick on Sunday and he started to experience similar symptoms on Friday.

He said that he helped his neighbor, Ibu Omih, slaughter a sick goat in mid-December. Part of the meat was later distributed to a number of people in the neighborhood.

The case was brought to light after Omih took her daughter, who had fallen ill, to the community health post, where she learned that her daughter was suffering from anthrax.

Of the seven people who had been infected by the disease, one has recovered so far.

Head of the local disease control and community health unit, Sudadi Himawan, confirmed that there were seven people in the village who had shown symptoms of anthrax, which is not uncommon in Indonesia, and added that the areas in Bogor regency that are prone to the virus included Citereup, Hambalang, Babakan Madang and Karadenan.

In July 2002, five workers at a cattle-breeding farm in Bogor were infected with the disease after being exposed to the blood of an infected cow.