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)