Diarrhea hits 15 every minute

JAKARTA (JP): Fifteen people suffer from diarrhea every minute due to drinking contaminated water, a health official revealed on Sunday.

The Director General of Communicable Disease Control and Environmental Health, Umar Fahmi, said the high incidence of diarrhea in the country was attributable to the common practice of consuming water that had not been boiled.

The incidence of diarrhea has increased to 300 per 1,000 persons in 2000 from 200 per 1,000 persons five years ago, Umar said.

"Diarrhea has become the second most deadly disease among children under five years old after acute infections of the respiratory tract," Umar told Antara.

Apart from diarrhea, consumption of contaminated water could transmit 36 diseases, including typhoid, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and E, scabies and leprosy.

Central Bureau of Statistics data for 1999 revealed that only 67.65 percent of the water consumed in villages was potable and less than two-thirds of it was free from dangerous bacteria. The water in urban areas, meanwhile, was mostly potable.

Umar hoped that each regency or mayoralty administration would provide clean and healthy water for its residents in order to prevent diarrhea and other diseases related to water consumption patterns.