Diarrhea leaves five dead

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

Five Maluku residents have died and 80 others have been admitted to a medical clinic since an outbreak of diarrheal diseases was detected in the remote Serawaru area, Southeast Maluku regency, on Oct. 18.

The regency has declared a civil emergency in the three subdistricts where the outbreak is centered. Eighty patients are being treated at the Serawaru community health center for dehydration.

Administration secretary Piet Norimarna said the government had deployed a medical team to the area to treat the patients and stop the outbreak from spreading.

A health official with the administration, Justini Pawa, said his office had dispatched 60 crates of medicine to tackle dehydration among the diarrhea patients. The medicine was sent on Saturday by a fast boat and had reached the affected area on Wednesday, he said.

Justini said outbreaks of diarrheal diseases were common in the dry season because of water sanitation problems, with clean water hard to find in the region.

"The problem is compounded by the fact that local residents are generally not health-conscious," Justini said.