Hospital workers in poor knowledge of AIDS risk

Hospital workers in poor knowledge of AIDS risk

JAKARTA (JP): Most major hospitals in Jakarta are qualified to
treat patients afflicted by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV), an expert from the School of Medicine of University of
Indonesia (FKUI).

However, a study shows that many hospital staffers are still
not taking adequate precautions to protect themselves from the
disease.

Dr. H. Rustamadji told The Jakarta Post here yesterday that
FKUI and the Cipto Mangunkusumo general hospital (RSCM) have
conducted a series of training programs for hospitals in the
city.

"Some HIV carriers, especially those in serious condition,
are being referred here but many of them are being treated at
their respective hospitals," he said.

Speaking after a seminar on The Conduct and Behavior of
Medical and Hospital Staff in dealing with AIDS at RSCM,
Rustamadji said that some hospitals in Jakarta were not able to
deal with these patients adequately. But he added that the major
hospitals are now quite proficient at taking care of AIDS
patients.

Major hospitals in the city, such as the Metro Medical Center
and Pertamina hospital in South Jakarta, the St. Carolus and
Kramat hospitals in Central Jakarta, and the Mitra Keluarga
hospital in East Jakarta, have been identified as those qualified
to deal with the disease.

Research

Ambar Wahjuningsih Roestam, the main speaker at yesterday's
seminar, said a three-month survey she conducted showed that many
hospital staff workers did not have an adequate understanding of
the disease, including those working in the hospital morgue.

She revealed that 27 percent of 92 morgue workers she
interviewed did not use gloves while handling HIV positive
corpses despite the potential dangers.

"They are not aware of the serious risks, even though any one
of them could have been infected through a small wound," said
Ambar. She added that economic factors were often at fault
because some hospitals failed to supply adequate protection
apparel to morgue workers.

Another area of concern discussed at the seminar was the
improper disposal of used syringes.

Ambar admitted that the research, which involved 304
respondents from the period of November 1993 to January 1994, did
not look into hazardous waste disposal. However, she added that
the methods used by most hospitals to dispose of the needles were
a potential source of HIV transmission.

She also said that, apart from the regular anti-AIDS campaign,
more practical prevention techniques had to be provided,
especially for those who face constant exposure to this still
incurable disease.

Precautions

When asked about what precautions were being taken to prevent
the carries from entering Jakarta, Rustamadji confessed that no
sort of inspections were being conducted to monitor travelers
from abroad.

He explained that such methods would not be practical since it
would interfere with the speedy flow of people coming into the
airport.

Apart from that, he said that testing would not guarantee any
sort of safeguard since a person could be a full-blown AIDS
carrier without being HIV positive.

The government has recently embarked on numerous programs to
suppress the spread of AIDS in the country. Among the most recent
is the establishment of a government commission chaired by the
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas.

The fear of the disease has also prompted the government to
consider a ruling obligating expatriates to acquire AIDS-free
certificates. Due to the overwhelming public outcry, the final
decision on this matter has so far been left pending.

The official number of HIV carriers in Jakarta at present
stands at 69 people. However Dr. Suryadi from the Ministry of
Health's Research and Development office told the Post yesterday
that the actual number could be in the thousands.

"I think it could be around five or six thousand," he said,
adding that Jakarta has the highest infection rate followed by
Surabaya and Bali.

Despite having only 263 officially recorded AIDS cases, many
have stated that the actual number in Indonesia is far higher.

Azwar Anas himself has indicated that the actual number of HIV
carriers in the country could be 200 times higher than the one
officially recorded.

Estimates have put the figure at around 20,000 with
projections reaching nearly half a million in less than a decade.

When asked if the disease was found in any particular group in
society, Surjadi said for the present it was still concentrated
among homosexuals and prostitutes.

However, he admitted that the current numbers might not be an
accurate representation of the makeup of HIV carriers since there
have never been any wide-scale testing for AIDS.

"They are the ones we have found most often infected because
they have been the main focus of the tests being conducted," he
said. He added that anyone who had multiple partners was prone to
the disease. (mds)