Diarrhea kills 41 in NTT, dengue haunts N. Sulawesi
Diarrhea kills 41 in NTT, dengue haunts N. Sulawesi
Yemris Fointuna and Yongker Rumthe, The Jakarta Post,
Kupang/Manado
The death toll from a diarrhea outbreak that has affected several
villages in the regency of Belu, bordering East Timor, since
early this month has reached 17, and more than 500 people are now
receiving intensive treatment at local public health centers and
nearby hospitals.
Belu Deputy regent, Bria Yohanis, told reporters here on
Thursday that the local administration had provided the patients
with Rp 16 million worth of aid and medicines.
"Besides killing more people, the disease has also spread to
10 more villages, meaning that 16 villages are now in danger,"
Bria said.
The villages are Tohe, Lalakun, West Lalakun, Litamali,
Rainawe, Rafuli, Besikama, Ramasa Hain, Lasaen, Umatoos, Sikun,
Fatoe, Makhtihan, Halibasar, Lalaten and Leun Tolu.
"The latest diarrhea toll for Belu brings to 41 the total
number of victims who have died from diarrhea between November
2001 and January 2002 in East Nusa Tenggara province. Eighteen
died in the regency of Alor, 17 in Belu regency, four in
Manggarai and two in Sikka," said Bria.
The remote regency of Belu is more than 400 kilometers east of
the town of Kupang, making it difficult to obtain fresh data on
the diarrhea outbreak.
Health reports have not yet been made available by members of
the investigation team, which will reveal its findings on Friday.
The team is being led by Bria.
Meanwhile, in North Sulawesi the number of people
hospitalized for dengue increased to 25 on Thursday, since the
disease has hit Manado, Bitung and Minahasa on Jan. 1.
"There have been no fatalities," Nora Lumentut, the head of
the eradication of contagious diseases at the provincial health
office, said on Thursday. There were 21 patients on Wednesday.
Dengue fever has hit the three areas following the continuous
rains in almost all areas in North Sulawesi.
She added that twenty-two of the patients were children.
She said, however, that the spread of dengue fever in the
province was not serious. "We cannot say that the spread of the
disease is out of the ordinary. The number of patients is
increasing, but there have been no fatalities."
In a separate interview, Deetje Londa, spokesman for Manado's
Malalayang General Hospital, where all dengue patients in Manado
are being treated, said that the hospital had established a team
to fight the disease, saying that the spread of the disease had
been classified as significant, judging from the increasing
number of patients.