Diarrhea hits 15 every minute

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.