Disease strikes flood victims in Banten

Disease strikes flood victims in Banten

SERANG, Banten: Some 14,163 of 134,531 people whose homes were
recently flooded have respiratory problems, diarrhea and skin
ailments, says a local official.

Sonya Priyadharsini, chief of the local health office, said in
a coordination meeting on handling post-flood diseases here on
Tuesday that flood victims were still being treated in general
hospitals in Serang, Tangerang and other regencies.

"Of all the thousands of affected people, five have died. But
most of them have been allowed to go home," she said, adding that
her office had fumigated areas in hundreds of villages in all
regencies to avoid an outbreak of dengue fever.

Sonya said her office was also cooperating with state-owned
pharmaceutical company PT Kimia Farma to supply low-cost drugs to
flood victims.

"Patients are not charged medical fees," she said.

Besides displacing thousands of families, the recent flooding
also damaged 6,200 hectares of paddy fields and 58 homes in the
province, causing Rp 122 billion in material losses. --Antara