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.