Diarrhoea Cases Surge in West Manggarai
Diarrhoea cases in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), are surging. The spread of diarrhoea is occurring in Labuan Bajo and other areas at the western tip of Flores Island.
“My child has had diarrhoea for four days. Initially, it was my child’s playmates who were affected. Now, there are many cases of diarrhoea,” said Ririn, the mother of one of the children affected by diarrhoea in Labuan Bajo, on Thursday (3/9/2026).
Ririn stated that children in her neighbourhood have been suffering from diarrhoea for almost the past two weeks. Symptoms include abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, and lethargy.
The woman had taken her child to the hospital for outpatient treatment. At the hospital, she discovered that many other children were also being treated for diarrhoea.
“It turns out there are many children being hospitalised due to diarrhoea. There are also those from villages being referred with diarrhoea symptoms,” Ririn added.
The Head of the West Manggarai Health Office, Theresia P. Asmon, stated that diarrhoea cases had emerged even before the earthquake disaster. However, the number of cases surged drastically during the post-earthquake emergency response period since mid-August.
Known affectionately as Ney, she revealed that diarrhoea cases are affecting not only children but adults as well. A total of 493 diarrhoea cases have been recorded across various health facilities in West Manggarai. The highest number of cases was recorded at the Wae Nakeng Community Health Centre in Lembor District.
“That is the accumulation of reports from all community health centres. There was a tendency for diarrhoea to rise before the earthquake, and it increased further after the earthquake,” Ney explained.
The increase in diarrhoea cases in Labuan Bajo only began in week 34, or late August. Ney ensured that the West Manggarai Health Office will conduct investigations and water sample testing at evacuation centres and health centres to determine the cause of the diarrhoea outbreak.