OVER the past two weeks, hundreds of people over three areas—Mandalamukti, Ciptagumati, and Cikalong Wetan—in Bandung, West Java, suddenly came down ill with a rare fever. Many, struck with a high fever and aching pains through their bones, were rushed to local clinics and the city's Hasan Sadikin Hospital for treatment.

Up until last week, 231 people had been treated at the Cikalong Wetan health post. Dr. Hajah Nur Listyaningsih, h