No cholera in Bali

No cholera in Bali

JAKARTA: Health authorities in Bali have declared that the holiday island is free from the cholera virus after extensive research following news reports that a number of Japanese tourists contracted the disease.

Ministry of Health spokesperson, Suheni Sujatmiko, said the Health Office in Bali conducted lab tests from samples taken at various restaurants in Denpasar, which were most frequented by Japanese tourists.

The lab tests failed to detect the vibrio bacteria that causes cholera, Suheni told the Antara news agency.

Some of the restaurants included in having samples taken were the Sita Restaurant, Bali Hai Cruiser and Uma Sari Restaurant.

The local health authorities also failed to locate all the eating places visited by the Japanese tourists because their travel was not coordinated by any tour operator.

Earlier television reports from Japan suggested that as many as 77 Japanese tourists returned from Bali infected by cholera. Indonesian health and tourist officials have questioned the accuracy of the report.

Suheni said that if the report was true, this would have suggested a massive outbreak of cholera in Bali, something which is not supported by the reality on the island. (emb)