News from Bali

Residents Urged to Clean Up to Avoid E. Coli


June 27, 2011

DENPASAR

Bali residents need to improve their lifestyles and hygiene practices to avoid exposure to the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria and other contaminants, a health official has said.

Head of the Bali health agency I Nyoman Sutedja told reporters that the high risk of an outbreak of E. coli was largely caused by local lifestyles.

“It’s actually easy to avoid and to eliminate E. coli if we lead healthy lifestyles. You have to wash your hands frequently, eat clean and cooked vegetables and meats and keep your houses and neighbourhoods clean,” he said.

Around 40 people have died in Europe and thousands rendered ill, mostly in Germany, by an outbreak of an E. coli strain this month linked to bean sprouts.

Sutedja said that E. coli, which was recently recorded in piped water supplies in Klungkung regency, was spread through faecal matter, but was also present in the environment.

“The problem in Bali is rooted in people’s habits of eating raw fruit and vegetables straight from the soil such as cucumbers, snake fruit and meat that’s not properly cooked,” he said, adding that the fact that many people living in rural areas lacked proper sanitation, and lived in close proximity to their livestock, which also exacerbated the problem.

Dewa Made Ngurah of Bali’s Animal Husbandry Department said tests by ministry staff had found traces of E. coli in samples of meat from traditional markets.

“The level of E. coli contamination within the meat we checked, however, was still below the dangerous level, but we must keep on alert. The meat should be thoroughly cleaned with running water and cooked properly to kill the bacteria,” he said, adding that improved practices by vendors were also needed.

“They must place cut meat in specific containers, with ice if possible, to prevent contamination,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Denpasar city government has urged hotel management to join the organised municipal sewage-development programme, aimed to improve treatment of sewage in the Bali capital and improve environmental health.

AA Bagus Sudharsana, of the Denpasar environment agency said many tourism businesses operated using only their own basic waste-management systems.

“Many of them are still operating simple, traditional waste-processing plants,” he said, adding that the Denpasar Sewerage Development Project was intended to create a unified sewage treatment system for the entire municipality, including the Sanur resort area.


Rabies Vaccinations Storming Ahead Says Official
June 28, 2011


A total of 36,001 domestic dogs across Bali have been vaccinated so far in the second stage of island-wide anti-rabies efforts, the head of the island’s Animal Husbandry Department has said.

Speaking in Denpasar on Saturday, I Putu Sumantra said the operation was still underway.

“Vaccinations are being carried out by 1,000 officers, divided into 195 teams, targeting dogs in rural and urban areas,” he said; “In one day all the teams together can reach 3,353 dogs.”

According to Sumantra, as of last weekend vaccinations had been given to a total of 3,553 dogs in Denpasar, 4,542 in Badung, 4,058 in Klungkung, 3,257 in Karangasem, 6,572 in Bangli, 7,456 in Jembrana and 2,795 in Tabanan.

Sumantara said the teams would continue their work until a total of 300,000 dogs had been vaccinated – 75 percent of an estimated total population of 400,000.

The current round of vaccinations was expected to be completed next month, Sumantra said, with a new wave of vaccinations due to start in August or September. He said public awareness and assistance was also required for the measures to be successful.

“These efforts need the support and participation of all parties so Bali can be made rabies free by 2015,” he said.

A previous government target to have eradicated the disease by 2012 was abandoned last month after the continued occurrence of rabies made it clear that that there was no chance for a “rabies free” listing next year on WHO guidelines, which demand no recorded occurrence for two years before such a status can be awarded.

Around 120 people have died from rabies in Bali since the outbreak began in late 2008.


Teachers Learn How to Teach Sex Education
June 28, 2011


DENPASAR

A group of Balinese teachers are learning to use an internet curriculum to teach sex education to local youngsters.

Fifteen high school teachers from Denpasar and Tabanan attended a week-long workshop last week organised by local NGO Kita Sayang Remaja (We Love Teenagers), also known as Kisara, in conjunction with the Dutch-based World Population Foundation.

The workshop aimed to show teachers how to bring sex education topics into the regular curriculum, using internet modules and lesson plans.

“We know that students have the right to get accurate information on sex and reproductive health, once a taboo subject,” said Ni Luh Putu Suasthini, one of the participating teachers.

According to Diah Paramitha Duarsa, a doctor specialising in teen issues in Bali, said there was a pressing need for more comprehensive sex education in local schools to deal with issues including teen pregnancies and sexual violence.

“We have to open our eyes that at least 500 cases of unwanted pregnancies occur among young girls in Bali every year. That is the number that we know of — there might be many more,” she said, adding that rising levels of HIV-AIDS were also a threat to teenagers

(all x the Bali Times)