The Provincial Government of Papua immediately called the Head of
Health Office (Kadinkes) to discuss measures to anticipate the outbreak of diphtheria disease that hit 20 provinces in Indonesia.
The diphtheria outbreak is widespread and worries the public and the Indonesian government. Diphtheria-causing bacteria spread rapidly not only in areas where health services were poor assessed, but also attacked citizens in the capital, who were considered to have better health care systems.
The Provincial Government of Papua immediately called the Head of
Health Office (Kadinkes) to discuss measures to anticipate the outbreak of diphtheria disease that hit 20 provinces in Indonesia. Papua Province Secretary Hery Dosinaen in Jayapura, said the anticipation should be taken because Papua has transportation routes such as busy airline services and the density of ships coming in and out. According to Hery, there should be a discussion on giving vaccination to the public to avoid diphtheria disease. Until now there has been no report to the Provincial Government of Papua about the people who have been infected by diphtheria disease. It is hoped that there will be no citizen in the Papua Province who are infected with the disease virus that is now established as the extraordinary event. From January to November 2017 there were 593 diphtheria cases, spread across 95 districts and cities in 20 provinces, with 32 deaths. World Health Organization (WHO) data on diphtheria disease shows the number of diphtheria cases in Indonesia up and down since the 1980s.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that commonly affects mucous membranes in the nose and throat, and can sometimes affect the skin, the disease is highly contagious and includes serious potentially life-threatening infections.
Keywords: Papua, West Papua, Indonesia, Government, Health, Disease, Diphtheria, World Health Organization, Bacteria.
