W. Java people warned about anthrax

BANDUNG: People in West Java have been warned about the danger of anthrax when selecting or buying goats or cattle intended for sacrifice during this year's Idul Adha festivities, which fall on Feb. 1, following a recent occurrence of the disease in Bogor.

West Java husbandry office head Iman Nugraha said on Tuesday people should be wary if they found their sacrificial animals exhibited certain phenomena such as diarrhea, fever, bleeding in the nose, mouth or ears, or other symptoms.

Anthrax can infect people via the urine, blood or meat of contaminated animals. The disease can cause the death of those who contract it.

Fatimah Resmiati, a senior official at the West Java health office, admitted his office had received a report that anthrax had killed three people in Karadenan neighborhood, Cibinong, Bogor.

The victims -- goat owner Salam, 40, his son Saiful Saleh, 9, and his nephew Atim, 16, -- had positively been identified by doctors on Jan. 7 as being infected with anthrax.

"They suffered from the disease on Dec. 27 after eating meat from a goat that had been slaughtered two days earlier," Fatimah said.

Salam was quoted as admitting that he slaughtered the sick goat and distributed the meat to three families, totaling 15 people. It was not clear whether the 12 others had fallen ill. --JP