Officials check for anthrax

Officials check for anthrax

Agencies, Jakarta

Health officials in Makassar carried out house-to-house checks
on Thursday for signs of anthrax infections in humans following
the deaths of at least 20 animals in the area.

Sixty monitors were deployed to "inform the population about
the disease and explain what to do to prevent it, and at the same
time ... detect any cases of human infection," Makassar's health
office head, Naisah, said.

Naisah told AFP that after the first case of animal anthrax
infection was confirmed on Nov. 11, local authorities set up a
center to deal with the outbreak at Tamangapa village, with more
than 200 people appearing for checks.

She said that public health officers had taken blood samples
from 11 people. Four of them showed superficial symptoms of
anthrax and the rest were people with a high susceptibility to
the disease because of their occupations.

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease that typically affects
livestock, but can be transmitted to humans through exposure to
infected animals, either through handling or eating infected meat
that is undercooked. Anthrax spores can also be inhaled, which is
usually fatal.

Nurlina Saking, from the Makassar animal husbandry office,
said that more than 20 cows and water buffaloes were believed to
have died of anthrax although only four cases were confirmed.

A ban on the movement of livestock in and out of the area was
being enforced, she said, while officials were gearing up for a
massive vaccination drive, with 65,000 doses being prepared for
distribution.

Sick animals were being treated with antibiotics, she added.
The overstretched health system in Indonesia, a sprawling nation
of more than 17,000 islands, is already battling outbreaks of
bird flu as well as a resurgence in polio cases.

Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriantono said on
Thursday the government was currently investigating reports that
anthrax had spread to East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province after
several cases emerged in South Sulawesi.

"I have received reports that several Anthrax cases have been
found in Sikka and Ende regencies on Flores island. I ask all of
us to deal with this problem seriously to prevent possible human
infections," he told a group of poultry farmers at a meeting near
Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, as quoted by Antara.

The minister urged the East Nusa Tenggara administration to
carry out a large vaccination drive on cattle, water buffaloes
and horses in affected areas to prevent the spread of anthrax.

"We all should learn from what has happened in South Sulawesi,
where anthrax first emerged. Due to the local administrations'
negligence, now the disease has spread to the province's capital
of Makassar," he said.