Jakarta, IO – Six residents of Baduy ethnic tribe who live in Banten died mysteriously over the past month. The Health Ministry and volunteers from NGO Sahabat Relawan Indonesia (SRI) moved quickly to take blood samples from the community to establish the cause.
According to the results, they are believed to have contracted Tuberculosis (TB). SRI coordinator Muhammad Arif Kirdiat said of the six blood samples examined, two showed presence of tuberculosis bacteria, Detik reported on Tuesday (13/9).
Arif explained that the six blood samples were taken from the nuclear family of the deceased Baduy residents – four children and two adolescents — and were experiencing illness with the same symptoms which included fever, cough, loss of appetite, to coughing up blood.
“Every Sunday we go around the village to provide health services. In mid-August we received the first report about someone had a fever and persistent cough and then died. This was followed by five others,” he said.