Leptospirosis death toll increases<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Another person was killed by the postflood infectious disease
\nleptospirosis on Thursday, bringing the death toll to nine.<\/p>\n
The latest victim, identified as Siti Aminah, died after being
\ntreated for several days at the city-owned Tarakan Hospital in
\nCentral Jakarta. The 65-year-old woman was a resident of Palmerah
\nsubdistrict, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The disease, which is spread through rat urine, has infected
\n27 people. Five of them were still being treated at Tarakan
\nhospital and one at Pelni hospital, both in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Head of the City Health Agency Chalik Masulili revealed that
\nsubdistricts prone to the disease were Palmerah, Cengkareng and
\nKembangan in West Jakarta; Menteng and Tanah Abang in Central
\nJakarta; Penjaringan in North Jakarta and Cipinang Besar Utara in
\nEast Jakarta.<\/p>\n
So far, nobody has succumbed in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Separately, City Governor Sutiyoso decided on Thursday to
\noffer free medical treatment to people suffering from the
\ndisease.<\/p>\n
\"We decided to give free medical treatment because it's a new
\ndisease that occurred after the floods,\" Sutiyoso told reporters
\nat City Hall.<\/p>\n
The city administration had earlier announced its
\ncontroversial plan to stop free medical treatment for flood
\nvictims, starting on Friday, due to a decrease in the number of
\npatients suffering from flood-related diseases, and, he alleged,
\nbecause many people had abused it.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso refused to declare the leptospirosis an outbreak, but
\nordered the City Health Agency to carry out a rat extermination
\nprogram and step up public information about the disease.<\/p>\n
Patients can be cured using antibiotics, but some died as they
\nwere treated too late at the hospital.<\/p>\n
The mortality rate of the disease is relatively high: seven
\npercent for people under 50, and 56 percent for those above 50.<\/p>\n
The leptospire bacteria enter the human body through the eyes,
\nnose and especially punctured skin, via contaminated water or
\ngarbage. In the early stages, patients suffer fever and vomit.<\/p>",
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