Disease hits flood victims in Sumatra

Disease hits flood victims in Sumatra

Oyos Saroso and M. Huzair, The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung/Palembang

Thousands of refugees in flood-hit areas in Sumatera are
contracting serious diseases because of inadequate shelter and a
lack of clean water, officials say.

In Lampung, more than 1,500 people were treated by doctors
during the weekend with about 6,500 recorded to be suffering from
a series of ailments ranging from skin rashes to dysentery and
cholera.

In Ryacudu Hospital in North Lampung, at least 40 children
have been treated during the past few days for dysentery and
cholera. Children were most at risk from these life-threatening
illnesses, while adults more often contracted skin and
respiratory infections, health workers said.

Officials were concerned the number of ill could rise because
clean water being distributed by provincial and regental
governments had still not reached all the affected areas on
Sunday.

A Tulangbawang regency senior official, Asnawi Zein, said the
Tulangbawang government was providing free medical services for
the sick.

The flooding in Lampung this year, which began about 10 days
ago, is more severe than similar floods in 2002. It has affected
every region except the Metro municipality and Tanggamus
regencies, which have better irrigation and sewage systems.

As of Sunday, the trans-Sumatra highway connecting Lampung and
Medan remained closed, with water cutting off the Way
Tulangbawang bridge.

Water levels in several places in Tulangbawang regency had
gone down to 30 centimeters as of Sunday, from one to two meters
a few days ago.

In South Sumatra, a government official estimated that
hundreds of people in the province were also sick from flood-
related illnesses. Five regencies in the province have been
affected, including Ogan Komering Ilir, Ogan Ilir and Musi
Banyuasin.

"We do not have the exact data," Chairil Zaman, the head of
South Sumatra provincial health office, said.

The office had prepared command posts in areas affected by the
flooding in order to provide medical treatment, he said.

Aswan, 54, a resident who visited a center in Muara Kuang,
Ogan Ilir, said that had suffered from influenza for the past two
days.

"Our neighborhood is very cold at night, as water still covers
many areas in our subdistrict," Aswan said.

A health worker at the command post said on Sunday workers had
treated about 20 people suffering from cases of the flu and
dysentery.