City administration warns of anthrax symptoms
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration warned residents on Tuesday to stay alert for symptoms of anthrax, such as skin lesions, following reports of infected goat meat and beef in neighboring Bogor regency.
"People who have consumed goat meat or beef and develop symptoms of anthrax should seek medical attention immediately," Yesi Widiastuti, spokeswoman for the Jakarta Health Agency, told reporters on Tuesday.
She added, however, that so far there had been no human infections reported in the capital.
Anthrax is caused by Bacillus anthracis, a spore-forming bacterium which can survive for 100 years in the ground and can only be destroyed through incineration.
Yesi said the disease could spread either through direct skin contact with an infected animal, by consuming infected meat or by inhaling air which has been contaminated by anthrax spore.
Lesions are a specific symptom of skin anthrax, with an incubation period of between one day and five days on average, she said.
Specific symptoms of intestinal anthrax are queasiness, vomiting and increased body temperature. Intestinal anthrax has an incubation period of between two days and five days, said Yesi.
Pulmonary anthrax has no specific symptoms at the beginning, she added, but those infected could suddenly have respiratory problems, high fever, after which they could lapse into a coma. The incubation period of this kind of anthrax is between three days and four days.
She said that people who have frequent contact with animals, such as breeders, shepherds, veterinarians, laboratory staffers, workers in leather products were more susceptible to the disease.
The Jakarta Animal Husbandry Agency has recorded several areas prone to the disease, including West Sumatra, Jambi, West Java, Jakarta, Central Java, East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.
Last year, there was an anthrax outbreak at an ostrich farm in Bogor. Another 180,000 livestock were threatened by the disease in Purwakarta, some 90 kilometers east of Jakarta.
Contacted separately, Sudianto, a staffer at the City Health Agency stationed at the Cakung slaughterhouse in East Jakarta, said he had yet to receive any order from the city administration either to give anthrax vaccinations to the animals or to quarantine them.
He said all animals delivered to the slaughterhouse should be accompanied by medical certificates, adding that many of the animals were from areas which there had been no anthrax outbreaks, such as East Java, Bali, Madura, West Nusa Tenggara and Lampung.
"We haven't had any animals infected with anthrax through the years," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He also said business at the slaughterhouse had yet to pick up despite the fact that people usually buy goats or cattle for the Idul Adha Islamic Day of Sacrifice, which will fall on March 5 this year.
The Jakarta Animal Husbandry Agency has suggested people buy animals only from authorized traders, such as slaughterhouses.
Jakarta has five slaughterhouses -- Cakung in East Jakarta, Mampang Prapatan in South Jakarta and Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta for cows, and Pulogadung in East Jakarta and Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta for goats.
Currently, the market price for goats ranges from Rp 400,000 to Rp 600,000 per goat, while the price for cows varies from Rp 12,000 to Rp 14,000 per kilogram of live meat. (04/07)