The Bali Hotel Association (BHA) on Wednesday urged the public, its members and other stakeholders in Bali’s tourism industry to be vigilant in dealing with a possible outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease.
BHA chairman Jean-Charles Le Coz said the association took the situation very seriously.
“While the disease is not communicable from person to person, and mostly affects the elderly and people in high-risk groups such as smokers, anyone with a high fever, chills and a cough should seek medical advice — as they would normally,” Le Coz said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.
He added that in the current case, BHA has advised its member hotels to conduct immediate tests, increase spot checks, and to report back to the association.
BHA members include the general managers of around 100 hotels and resorts in Bali, representing more than 15,000 hotel rooms and almost 30,000 employees in the tourism sector.
Bali Health Agency chief Nyoman Sutedja told BHA that while it had not been officially verified whether Legionnaires’ had been found in Bali, a full investigation was underway.
Recent media reports have indicated that a small number of Australian visitors to Bali in late 2010 have been infected with the Legionella bacterium, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease.
The disease is a severe flu-like illness with symptoms such as fevers, chills, muscle soreness, headaches, tiredness, reduced appetite, diarrhea, dry coughing and breathing problems.
Legionnaire’s disease is reportedly caused by bacteria that grows in water, particularly in warm environments such as hot tubs and water tanks, plumbing systems and air-conditioning systems.
The disease is contracted through the inhalation of contaminated water droplets.
