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Talks held with Indonesia over dysentery

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has been helping health officials from Taiwan and Indonesia engage in bilateral talks in the wake of an outbreak of dysentery among Taiwanese tourists who visited the Indonesian resort island of Bali last month.

The number of confirmed dysentery cases among Taiwanese tourists returning from Bali increased to 99 Monday, 55 more than when the dysentery outbreak among Taiwanese tourists was first reported on Nov. 23.

Lin Yung-lo (林永樂), Taiwan's top representative in Indonesia, traveled to Bali Nov. 27 on instructions from the foreign ministry to gain firsthand information about the situation and talk with Indonesian health officials about relevant matters, MOFA officials said yesterday.

The officials said that Lin has been instrumental in helping health officials from Taiwan and Indonesia conduct direct dialogue on the dysentery outbreak in a bid to facilitate eradication of the diarrhea-like disease in Bali, as well as to facilitate treatment of the Taiwanese tourists.

More than 300 tourists have been put under observation in the wake of reports of a rising number of suspected cases of dysentery among Taiwanese tourists who visited Bali Nov. 7 to 22. Many of them have reportedly developed fever, diarrhea and vomiting, with some cases having been confirmed to be Shigella dysentery.

Despite the outbreak, the government decided recently not to issue a travel advisory for Bali, which is a favorite destination for Taiwan-ese tourists, attracting about 400,000 Taiwanese visitors per year. Bali remained popular among Taiwanese tourists even at the height of the SARS outbreak early this year.

The owner of a local travel agency expressed concern that the dysentery outbreak might scare some Taiwanese tourists away from Bali.
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