Govt prepares for possible SARS outbreak

Govt prepares for possible SARS outbreak

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government claims it has taken the necessary measures to
prevent a possible recurrence of a Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Indonesia, following a confirmed SARS
case on Monday in China.

Secretary of the health ministry's SARS verification team
Azimal said on Wednesday that the government provided three
training sessions in June, August and September for Immigration
Customs Quarantine (ICQ) workers at airports and seaports.

"Approximately 90 ICQ workers across the country joined the
training. We conducted simulated procedures for handling people
showing SARS-like symptoms," said Azimal.

He said the government, together with the World Health
Organization (WHO), had also held several training courses for
hospital staff and requested more funds for additional courses
this year.

Several thermal scanners are in place at airports in Jakarta
and Bali to detect and identify incoming passengers, he said.
Body temperatures exceeding 39 degrees Celsius is the most easily
detected symptom.

However, no visible measures were being taken as of Tuesday at
Polonia airport in Medan, North Sumatra, where passengers were
not being examined upon arrival.

Responding to the report, Azimal said the ICQ at Polonia
airport lacked the human resources to perform checks on incoming
visitors. He said the government had asked airport management to
install thermal scanners.

Director of Surveillance, Epidemiology, Immunization and
Health Indriyono at the ministry said the government had thus far
prepared 45 health centers at airports and seaports across the
country and appointed 38 hospitals to handle SARS cases.

He said that no suspected cases had been detected as yet in
Indonesia.

A suspected SARS case was reported on Dec. 28 in Guangzhou,
China, the first case since July 2003. The world's first SARS
case emerged in November 2002, also in Guangzhou, and the disease
spread across international borders in the first half of 2003.

In Canada, 38 people died from SARS, 348 in China, 298 in Hong
Kong, 84 in Taiwan, two in the Philippines, 32 in Singapore, two
in Thailand, and five in Vietnam. Several isolated cases were
diagnosed in Indonesia, but no fatalities were recorded.