Emmy Fitri

A health official holding a ferry passenger suspected of carrying the swine flu virus — all part of a pandemic preparedness simulation. (JG Photo)

Swine Flu Virus Hits Batam, Dozens Infected — or So the Story Went

It was high drama on the seas off Batam, Riau Islands on Tuesday.

It all started calmly enough. The ferry ride across the flat waters from Singapore would only take about 40 minutes. Ten-year-old Titi Meri Andini, feeling nauseous and with a bad cough, was eager to get home and, like the other ferry passengers, she was unconcerned as she underwent the regulation health checks for infectious flu viruses.

Suddenly, the officials became agitated. They declared Titi could be carrying a mutation of the raging H1N1 virus — the much-feared swine flu.

She was immediately separated from her distraught mother and older sister.

Dozens of other passengers were declared to have the same symptoms. The ferry captain called the Sekupang port authorities for assistance. They ordered the ferry to stay out at sea. No one was allowed to embark.

Less than 20 minutes later, masked paramedics covered in all-white protective clothing clambered aboard the ferry.

They quickly checked all passengers, separating the healthy from suspected carriers.

The healthy were ordered to remain seated while officials and port authorities bundled the now masked suspect passengers into ambulances waiting at the port.

One man angrily grappled with the paramedics. “You can’t have my passport, I’m not a criminal,” he shouted, as he was set upon by officials. “I’m not sick. It’s just the flu.”

Passengers waiting for the next ferry to Singapore were perplexed by all the activity.

“There seemed to be some serious arguments going on and everyone was wearing masks,” said Hasan, one of the waiting passengers. “But then I saw the cameras and thought everything was all right.”

And everything was all right. Fortunately, it was all drama — of the theatrical kind but with an important objective.

Local health agency and seaport authorities were carrying out a flu pandemic simulation.

Mawardi Badar, head of the Batam Health Agency, said the simulation was a result of a series of seminars, workshops and desktop simulations.

“It’s urgent for our officials to get a taste of the conditions they will experience if a pandemic ever struck here,” he said.

The Sekupang seaport is one of five Batam gateways of various sizes serving domestic and international trips. The island is just a 90-minute flight from Jakarta.

“Batam is the home to bustling seaports that serve passengers traveling to and from many destinations as well as a high amount of commercial activities,” Mawardi said. “Those interactions pose a greater risk of the transmission of viruses from human to human.”

“In our scenario today, we were simulating a situation where a mutation of the H1N1 virus mixed with H5N1, making the resultant virus more virulent and highly pathogenic,” he said.

In the past two years, there have been at least three medium to large-scale simulations organized by the National Commission for Avian Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness together with local governments.

The first massive simulation was held in Jembrana, Bali, which enacted how to contain a dangerous virus and deal with the human infection cases at an international airport.

The second was in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and focused on the containment of a dangerous virus in rural and urban settings.

Indonesia was the country that was hardest hit by avian influenza, caused by the H5N1 virus, with more than 150 deaths.

Experts fear a possible mutation of the virus could make it even more virulent, triggering a pandemic.

The outbreak of H1N1 in Mexico in March this year and its rapid spread across countries and continents prompted the World Health Organization in July to declare the world was heading toward a pandemic.

The virus, H1N1, had officially claimed more than 6,760 lives as of Nov. 15, and has been reported in 206 countries. Indonesia had 107 confirmed cases of H1N1 infections and 10 fatalities as of Sept. 4.

Emil Agustiono, the pandemic preparedness commission’s deputy chief executive, said that simulations, such as the one staged in Batam on Tuesday, were essential to test the procedures designed to contain infections in public places.

“Officials should use these events to improve their procedures,” he said.

Emil said, however, the simulation was not only about containing infectious diseases such as influenza but also to train officials to respond to “emergency situations in natural disasters and other mishaps.”

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