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