RI queries AIDS-free certificate

JAKARTA (JP): An Irian Jaya health official says he doubts the validity of AIDS-free certificates Thailand has issued to its fishermen working in Indonesia.

Antara quoted Dr. Gunawan of the Ministry of Health's provincial office as saying in Jayapura yesterday that his office had found Thai fishermen who either had AIDS or were HIV- positive, despite having just come from Thailand and possessing the certificates.

A team from Gunawan's office made the discoveries after taking blood samples from Thai fishermen working in fishery companies in the Merauke regency.

"This is why we'll continue testing their blood, despite the certificates," Gunawan said.

According to official statistics, the number of people with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in Irian Jaya is 21, while 97 others have tested positive for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that leads to AIDS. The total number of people with AIDS/HIV in Indonesia was 501 in January.

Adrie Kaleb, the spokesman for a fishing company in Merauke, said the firm's foreign employees had to undergo thorough medical examinations at the Mahachey Hospital in Bangkok before being employed.

Adrie also said that in 1996 his company stopped having its doctors examine fishermen's blood samples because the health officials insisted that only they had the authority to perform the examinations.

"We usually send our foreign fishermen home if they're found to have AIDS," Adrie said. "The problem has been that they usually complained because, having the certificates, they did not believe they had AIDS."

According to the news agency, 50 Thai fishermen have been shipped home because they had AIDS or HIV. (swe)