SOME 50,000 ANTISEPTIC PACKAGES DISTRIBUTED IN JAKARTA

Jakarta, Sept 15 (ANTARA) - The National Committee for Bird Flu and Pandemic Diseases in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has distributed 50,000 packages of antiseptics such as hand sanitizers and tissues for free at public places in Jakarta city.

Several targeted public in the program were Pasar Senen train station, Tanjung Priok port, Gambir train station, Pulogadung bus station and Soekarno-Hatta international airport.

"The activity is part of UNICEF's program to minimize the spread of pandemic diseases such as Bird flu and Swine flu (H1N1)," UNICEF's communication specialist, Suzanna Dayne, said here on Tuesday during the distribution of the antiseptics at Pasar Senen train station.

The chief of the Pasar Senen train station, Barosad, expressed appreciation for the program.

According to data from the Health Ministry, the first case of swine flu in Indonesia was detected on June 24, 2009. Victims had continued to fall ever since.

Some two swine flu victims were found on June 24, six on June 29, 12 cases on July 4, eight cases on July 7, 24 cases on July 9, 12 cases on July 12, 22 cases on July 13, 26 cases on July 14, 30 cases on July 15, 15 cases on July 16, 15 cases on July 20, 67 cases on July 22, 83 cases on July 23, 21 cases on July 24, 19 cases on July 25 and 54 cases on July 27.

The new swine flu cases were spread in 15 provinces in the country, namely the provinces of Bali, Banten, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Kalimantan, Riau Islands, North Sulawesi, South Sumatra, North Sumatra, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesia and Jambi.

Director General of Disease Control and Sanitation Tjandra Yoga Aditama said swine flu was spreading fast because the virus was communicated from human to human through direct contact, coughs or items touched by sufferers.

The government, he said, has been doing its best to prevent the spread of the disease and continued to monitor it at ports while it had also appointed reference hospitals and prepared antiviral medicicines. ***3***
(A051/B/HAJM/17:00/a014)