Diarrhea and dengue outbreak worsen

Diarrhea and dengue outbreak worsen

The Jakarta Post, Semarang/Kupang

Two-year-old Aisyah Maulid lay quietly in a hospital bed,
accompanied by her father, Mudai, and mother, Sri Mahmudah, as
she was being treated at the Roemani hospital in Semarang for
dengue fever.

Mudai said on Wednesday that he took his daughter to the
hospital four days earlier because of her high fever.

"She was previously diagnosed with a lung ailment and sent
home. But since her temperature continued to rise, we brought her
here, and it turns out she has dengue fever," the resident of
Bangetayu Wetan village said.

Six-month-old Mutiarani was taken to the hospital after three
days of severe diarrhea.

"Our local doctor told us to take her to this hospital, but
the problems remain and she still refuses to eat," said her
mother Wahyuni on Wednesday at Roemani hospital.

At Roemani Hospital, as many as 21 people, 18 of them children
and babies, are being treated for severe diarrhea, but doctors
have not made clear the exact ailment that is causing the
diarrhea cases. At the Dr. Kariadi Hospital there are about 18
outpatients suffering from dengue symptoms.

"This month alone, we have treated 89 patients with severe
diarrhea while 16 others have dengue fever," Roemani Hospital
director Edy Sumarwanto said.

Last year, the hospital treated 990 patients with diarrhea and
322 people with dengue. Twelve of those patients died, he said.

"Those who died were usually brought here after their
condition had already advanced to a serious stage."

Edy urged people to immediately consult their physicians if
they noticed spotting or dengue fever symptoms occurring, or if
they experienced frequent bowel movements.

In East Nusa Tenggara, three more people died due to
complications associated with severe diarrhea, thought to be
produced by e coli bacteria, bringing the total death toll there
to 20.

The worst outbreak has occurred in the regency of East Flores,
where 16 people have died and 993 are being treated for chronic
diarrhea. In Belu regency, two people have died and 24 more are
in the hospital, while in Kupang, bacterial infections killed two
people and hospitalized 11.

Head of the welfare section at the province's social affairs
office, Fransiska Palan Bolen, said on Wednesday that officials
were still closely monitoring diarrhea and dengue fever cases in
several regencies.

"Of the 20 people who died, 18 of them died from dehydration
caused by diarrhea and the remaining two deaths in Belu were
caused by complications associated with pneumonia," Fransiska
said.

In the past week, the number of people affected by diarrhea in
the province has been on the increase. In Larantuka, the figure
rose from 134 to 354; in Witihama from 73 to 207; Klubagoit from
14 to 17; East Solor from 149 to 151; and West Adonara from one
to six cases.