No special team needed to monitor flesh eating bacteria
JAKARTA (JP): Health officials here have decided against forming a special team to monitor the spread of the lethal Group A Streptococcus (GAS) flesh eating bacteria which has recently caused concern world-wide.
Head of the municipal health office, Soeharto Wiryowidagdo, said that the health board operates an effective surveillance system which sufficiently monitors the development of rare and highly contagious diseases.
"Presently my colleagues and I don't think that a special team is required," Soeharto told The Jakarta Post.
He explained that hospitals such as Cipto Mangunkusumo general hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta must give daily reports on the occurrence of the dengue haemorrhagic fever, the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and other dangerous cases.
The news of the GAS bacteria created a global scare these past weeks with several reported deaths in Britain, New Zealand and Singapore.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 450 people have died annually in the United States between 1989 and 1991.
The cause of the disease has been identified as the GAS bacteria which has mutated into a flesh eating bacterium destroying fat, skin and muscle within hours.
Soeharto said that no such cases have been found in Indonesia. "I have checked with the University of Indonesia's School of Medicine (FKUI) and RSCM. They informed me that there are no cases as yet."
However he warned that Jakarta, with a population of over eight million, is extremely prone to the spread of the bacteria.
The disease is spread by either direct contact to an open flesh wound carrying the GAS bacteria or droplet infection, thus making a dense and populous city like Jakarta highly susceptible.
High probability
There is a high probability of its spread here especially since Jakarta is an open city with people coming in from many places of the world, Soeharto said.
Once inside the body, the symptoms are exactly the same to a sore throat.
The bacteria's incubation depends on the physical condition of the person. If that person is less fit then the bacteria could mutate and turn malignant.
The reproduction rate of the bacteria is extremely fast, splitting itself every 20 minutes. In comparison, the tuberculosis bacteria splits itself every 20 days. A malignant GAS bacteria is capable of killing a person within 24 hours.
Soeharto says that scientists are baffled by the cause of the mutation and are still in search of ways to cure it.
"I suspect that the root of the mutation is the unrestrained use of anti-biotics," he pointed out.
According to Soeharto, the best defense against the disease is by maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
He also urged those acquiring the symptoms to immediately examine themselves at the microbiology department of FKUI. (mds)