Residents shift from panic to complacency over anthrax

Residents shift from panic to complacency over anthrax

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Residents are urged not to panic over the recent anthrax case in
Bogor because the disease is curable when spotted at an early
stage.

"Penicillin can cure humans and cattle infected with anthrax
in the early stage," dean of the veterinary science faculty at
the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Sachrian Hasmi Pasaribu, told
The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"Even infected cattle can be totally cured and be safe to
slaughter. There is really no need to worry. It is not an
outbreak, it is only an isolated case. But we must be alert," he
added.

In the latest case, six workers were infected with anthrax at
a cattle-breeding farm in Bogor's Kebon Pedes area in Tanah
Sareal district.

According to Sachrian, it was also not necessary to close all
existing cattle-breeding farms in the region even though Bogor is
one of West Java's endemic areas for anthrax together with
Bekasi, Depok, Karawang and Subang.

"Indeed it is difficult to destroy anthrax spores but we can
prevent them entering the cattle by routine vaccinations every
six months.

"Once the cattle have stronger antibodies, we can vaccinate
them yearly instead of every six months.

He, however, underlined that it needed strong discipline from
all related parties to avoid another anthrax case.

"It needs a high level of discipline from both breeders and
veterinary health officials to keep the cattle protected through
routine vaccinations.

"We also need participation of the public in reporting any
possible infection," said Sachrian.

Most of the time, breeders are reluctant to have their cattle
vaccinated while the veterinary health officials may not be able
reach all cattle farms.

Sachrian said the bacillus anthracis, which caused anthrax,
was not that dangerous as long as it was still contained in the
infected body.

"That's why infected cattle must not be slaughtered as the
bacteria may form spores. Even a single slice may cause the
bacteria to develop into spores.

"The infected cattle (that have died) should be burned or
buried with lime. The bacteria will die together along with the
decomposition of the carcass."

Spores, however, on an alarming note, could live for up to 30
years.

The latest anthrax case has received mixed reactions from the
Bogor residents themselves. Some are concerned, while others are
not really perturbed by the case although they have taken some
precautionary measures.

Erry Moestafa, who lives in Central Bogor, said he and his
family would keep consuming beef as there was no official warning
to do otherwise.

But Bernardus Wijayaka said his family has not eaten beef for
two months, and now prefers to eat chicken and fish.

"My neighbors were quite confused whether to consume beef or
not. But now we all have calmed down.

"They were worried because we live not far from the infected
cattle farm. It's about two kilometers from our neighborhood,"
said Bernardus, who lives in Kedung Badak area.

Earlier on Tuesday, the West Java Animal Husbandry Agency
warned all residents living within a five-kilometer radius of the
infected farm to keep alert.

Meanwhile, local restaurateurs claimed that business was not
affected by the latest anthrax case in the mayoralty while some
residents avoided eating beef.

Kamal of Simpang Raya Padang restaurant said that his business
was not affected although he used local beef, as the supplier
bought them from certified shops with health certificates.

Pasadena Resto and Grill uses meat from New Zealand. Its
manager, Rio said there had been no decrease in the number of
guests.

Bogor Steamboat Sukiyaki also uses meat from New Zealand and
reported a stable number of patrons although it was located near
the infected breeding farm.

In Jakarta, while playing down the possibility of an anthrax
outbreak in cattle here, the City Husbandry Agency said it had
finished taking samples from the city's slaughterhouses and
markets for laboratory testing.

"We will know the results next week," Naniek S., head of the
agency's animal disease monitoring, prevention and eradication
unit, said Thursday.