Japanese doctors asked to prove cholera claim

Japanese doctors asked to prove cholera claim

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Health Sujudi challenged Japanese doctors yesterday to go to Bali and see for themselves if cholera exists as Japanese tourists have claimed.

The claims made by 77 Japanese tourists that they contracted cholera during their stay in Bali, Sujudi said, need to be supported by concrete evidence.

"The claim is just untrue," Sujudi told journalists after meeting with other cabinet ministers under Azwar Anas, the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.

Lower-ranking health officials in Bali and Jakarta have also denied the claim, which has received wide coverage in Japan.

"There is no single cholera patient in Bali as far as I know," said Sujudi, a medical doctor by training.

The Japanese Ministry of Health stated that 62 confirmed and 15 suspected cases of cholera in 23 prefectures nationwide have been reported over the last two weeks. All of the patients have one thing in common - a holiday spent in Bali.

Indonesian officials find the Japanese claim especially puzzling since no such claims have come from other tourists.

The barrage of publicity by the Japanese media given to the supposed outbreak is also frustrating tourism authorities and tour operators in Bali who fear the reports may affect the industry. (29)