SARS: Numbers down, but govt remains vigilant

SARS: Numbers down, but govt remains vigilant

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As of Sunday, only three suspected Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) patients were being treated in hospitals across
the country, but an official warned that it was too early to
declare that the spread of the virus had passed its peak.

The latest figure followed the confirmation by Indonesian
officials on Saturday that a British man with the country's only
known probable case of SARS had flown to Hong Kong the day
before, although he had been ordered to stay at his home in
Indonesia for 10 to 14 days for monitoring purposes.

The figure, however, did not include one person with SARS-like
symptoms, who had disappeared from her room in Sanglah hospital
in Denpasar, Bali.

Indonesia has had no confirmed SARS cases so far.

The director for epidemiology surveillance, immunization and
health at the Ministry of Health, Indriyono, said on Sunday that
although the number of cumulative cases appeared to be declining,
the government would continue its precautionary measures.

"As time goes by, and with better understanding of SARS,
particularly among health officials, the government has been
confident as to whether or not to declare a symptomatic
individual as a probable SARS case, and (whether or not they)
must be isolated. But this doesn't mean SARS cases have decreased
in number or even that we have passed the worst," he told The
Jakarta Post.

When SARS was declared a worldwide threat by the World Health
Organization (WHO) on March 15, Indonesia started to report
several cases that were suspected to be SARS.

On April 11, the number of suspected SARS patients receiving
isolated treatment at hospitals reached eight, but a government
verification team later declared that many of them were not
infected with SARS and that they suffered from other illnesses.

Indriyono added that the government had no intention of easing
its preventative measures against SARS, such as those at air and
sea ports and hospitals, at least until mid-May.

"We don't know when SARS will be over. We are still
monitoring the developments in Hong Kong and China, and will stay
in touch with WHO until mid-May. If the disease continues to
spread, we will maintain the present measures for another month,"
he said.

Meanwhile, microbiologist Amin Soebandrio at the University of
Indonesia and Taufan Situmeang, a senior doctor at Siloam
Gleneagles Hospital in Tangerang, Banten, said the hot climate
and the housing system here may have made Indonesia relatively
safe from a SARS outbreak.

"Indonesia is not like Singapore. Although the climate in
Singapore is hot like here, many Singaporeans live in apartments,
making it easy for the disease to spread through close contact
with SARS-infected individuals," Amin told the Post.

Amin says that the coronavirus that causes the pneumonia-like
disease could survive in hot climates for only between two to
three hours, but could live longer in damp or cool climates.

Nevertheless, the two experts agreed that the government
should not ease its preventative measures.

As of Sunday, SARS, which is fatal in about four percent of
cases, had infected over 3,500 people in the world and had
claimed over 200 lives.