Diarrhea incidence surges after holidays
Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar
Dozens of people, mostly children, have died over the recent Idul Fitri holidays across the country after suffering from serious diarrhea.
Health officials announced on Saturday that at least 11 children died due to complications from severe diarrhea in the past two days in South Sulawesi, while in Surabaya, the second largest city in the country, 10 children under five had died since the beginning of this month.
Meanwhile, in Solok, West Sumatra, four people had died and 263 others were hospitalized from Nov. 8 to 18, prompting the Ministry of Health to place the regency under in a state of health emergency.
South Sulawesi health agency deputy head Dr. Muhadir admitted that the number of patients with severe diarrhea had increased up to three times from the same period last year.
However, the local administration has yet to consider it a full-fledged outbreak.
"We have deployed officers to supervise the treatment of diarrhea patients here," he said.
The Makassar health agency head Armin Nurdin said that he had instructed hospitals and public health centers to stay open 24 hours in order to deal with further cases in several areas, including in Jumpandang Baru, Kassi-kassi, Tamalate, Tamangapa, Antara, Bara-baraya and Maccinisawa.
The situation was similar in nearby regencies including in Bone, Gowa, Paloppo, Sanjai, Wajo and Nulukumba.
Dr. Oerip Murtedjo of the Dr. Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya, East Java said on Saturday that around six patients a day, on average, were admitted to the hospital for diarrhea since the beginning of the month.
Dr. Umar Fahmi Achmadi, the director-general of infectious disease and sanitation with the Health Ministry, called on hospitals and public health centers (Puskesmas) across the country to stay alert for similarly severe cases of diarrhea in their respective areas.
In a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Saturday, Umar Fahmi called on the people to pay more attention to personal hygiene in a bid to prevent whatever was causing the infections.
Normally caused by an excess of E.coli bacteria, diarrhea is most often associated with the consumption of unhygienic food or water and unhygienic living conditions. Local doctors also believe it is caused by changes in the weather. Most of the country is beginning to enter the wet season this month.
In Makassar, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab said he would hold a ministerial meeting to discuss the long-running diarrhea issue.
Speaking to reporters after visiting patients in Labuang Baji hospital, Alwi said that the central government was considering an allocation of special funds for diarrhea-afflicted children, especially those who are malnourished, as they are particularly vulnerable.
Since early November, more than 1,300 patients nationwide have been admitted to hospitals due problems related to serious diarrhea. Some caregivers said they had not been able to accommodate all the patients that had flooded the health centers.