RI yet to respond to anthrax threat

Annastashya Emmanuelle and Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite the anthrax attacks in the United States, the government has yet to take any special precautions against the possibility of such attacks being repeated here.

This was because there was no real evidence that such attacks had taken place in Indonesia, Umar Fahmi Achmadi, director general for contagious disease eradication and environmental sanitation at the Ministry of Health, said in an interview on Friday.

"So far, it has just been mass hysteria. There is no concrete evidence. If there is a real case where people have gotten sick after receiving mail or parcels, then we will immediately take action,"

Besides, there has been no indication that Indonesia would be targeted for attack, Umar added.

Umar said special precautions were not necessary because all hospitals, laboratories, and public health centers were ready to take immediate action should an anthrax case occur as they had experience with anthrax outbreaks in the past.

"We have anthrax cases almost every year. So, healthcare officials know how to handle the disease. Even public health centers have guidelines on how to treat anthrax," Umar added.

The most recent anthrax outbreak occurred in February 2001, in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java. Earlier, an anthrax outbreak was also reported in Boyolali in Central Java.

Furthermore, Umar said, the public should not be panicked by the anthrax threat as the disease could be easily treated with antibiotics.

However, he advised the public to remain alert.

"Should you receive any mysterious letters or parcels, please immediately report them to the police. The police can then notify the nearest hospital or laboratory to check if the letter contains the anthrax virus," Umar said, adding that the media could help raise public awareness through its coverage.

The postal service, nevertheless, claims that it has neither the knowledge nor the technology to detect the deadly anthrax bug, and has yet to receive instructions from the Directorate General for Post and Telecommunications on preventative actions.

"Most of our operational staff don't even know what anthrax is and how the virus is spread... we have very little knowledge on this matter," said Baharuddin, the region IV secretary of PT Pos Indonesia, who manages post offices in greater Jakarta.

As the bug has become quite a serious matter in post offices throughout Europe and the U.S., Baharuddin hopes that the Health Ministry will soon brief him on anthrax and its proper handling.

Thus far, directorate officials seem to be taking the issue lightly, and it has not yet been discussed in officials' meetings.

"Perhaps because it happened just recently.. we're still treating mail on the basis of normal procedures," he added.

Post office workers, along with officials from the Customs Office, still rely on a basic X-ray check for international mail under 20 grams as a means of detecting heroin, although packages are opened manually when checking for prohibited or taxable items.

Postal staff sort mail with their bare hands, and are not equipped with face masks.

Baharuddin said that, without any formal instruction from the Directorate General for Post and Telecommunications, the post office could not take any action even though operational staff were facing a health hazard.

"We will soon raise the issue with the Directorate General. Meanwhile, there is really nothing that we can do," he reiterated.

There is an average of 5,000 incoming mail items from the United States delivered daily throughout the country, he added.