Sat, 06 Mar 1999

15 malnourished infants in Padang

PADANG, West Sumatra: Fifteen severely malnourished infants were found by a nutrition monitoring team here this week.

Antara reported that eight infants were discovered on Friday in Padang Pariamanan regency and seven infants were found earlier this week.

"They suffer from marasmic kwashiorkor," Winardi, an official at a health agency, said of the eight infants discovered on Friday.

Winardi, in charge of aid disbursement, urged further investigations into the cases.

The eight infants, between the ages of four months and three years, had an average weight of 6.5 kilograms.

The infants were Kasandra, 3; Rayatna, 2; Fitri, 1; Agnes Yolanda, 2; Ahmad Khaira, 4 months; Fitra, 1; Riska Mayusri, 1; and Azira, 1.