No special team needed to monitor flesh eating bacteria
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)