Doctors warn of possible outbreak in C. Java

Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Semarang

Doctors are warning that there could be an anthrax outbreak in several regencies in Central Java after one villager recently died in the town of Boyolali.

Head of the provincial health office Krishnajaya said on Monday evening that the infectious disease of cattle could flare up in some subdistricts in Boyolali, Demak and Semarang.

Anthrax claimed the life of Rahmat Widodo, a 14-year-old boy from Jemowo village in Musuk subdistrict.

He died at Boyolali's Pandan Arang public hospital on Feb. 26 after being infected with anthrax bacillus, Krishnajaya said.

He said the cause of Rahmat's death was determined last Saturday when the Semarang health laboratory office announced the result of its test on the victim's blood sample.

"A health team from Boyolali has conducted an investigation at the location, where the victim lived, and its surroundings but so far there is no indication of an anthrax outbreak there," Krishnajaya said.

He explained that the team had interviewed Rahmat's neighbors and looked into a number of farm animals, particularly cattle, at the village of Jemowo.

The doctor was not sure how the dead victim had been infected with the disease.

But he underlined that several days before his death, Rahmat had eaten bakso (soup with meatballs) he bought from a food stall near the hospital.

Two months before Rahmat died, a goat was found dead near the victim's house, but the cause of its death remains unknown, Krishnajaya added.

He said anthrax was believed to have attacked Rahmat's digestive tract, resulting in high fever, convulsions, vomiting, stomach cramps and respiratory problems.

Rahmat's death was categorized as an "extraordinary case" as the outbreak of the disease was not detected in his subdistrict, Krishnajaya said.

He said that in Boyolali, anthrax bacillus could be found in at least four subdistricts of Ampel, Teras, Mojosongo and Cepogo.

Data from Krishnajaya's office shows that at least 126 cases of anthrax were found, with 20 fatalities in the 1990-2001 period.

At least 18 of the deaths were recorded in 1990 alone from 90 cases in Teras.