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)