Bali denies cholera claim

Bali denies cholera claim

DENPASAR, Bali: The Bali provincial administration has sent an official letter to the Japanese government, denying Japanese tourists' claim that cholera was spreading on the tourist island.

Governor Ida Bagus Oka said yesterday that the letter was sent to the Japanese government through the Indonesian embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Oka said he made it clear to Japan that the tourists' claim, which was widely publicized by the Japanese mass media, was baseless.

"Of 1,032,000 foreign tourists who visited Bali over the last year, not one has reported having contracted cholera," he said as quoted by Antara.

Seventy seven Japanese tourists were reportedly hospitalized for cholera when the returned to Japan from Bali in December. (rms)