Diarrhea leaves five dead

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.