Food-poisoned children still in critical state
Food-poisoned children still in critical state
JAKARTA (JP): The results of the laboratory tests on mung bean
porridge that poisoned 192 children in Lampung nearly two weeks
have not yet been announced.
Three of the children are being treated in Jakarta's Cipto
Mangunkusomo hospital. The hospital and the Ministry of Health
say they are working on the tests.
At the hospital yesterday, Dr. Abdul Latif said he was unable
to say what poisoned the children.
Ministry of Health officials in Lampung and Jakarta were
unavailable to comment yesterday on the exact cause of poisoning.
Abdul said he could not say how long it would take the
children to recover.
He said that two of the three patients flown in from Lampung,
Fitriani, 10, and Purnomo, 13, were still in a critical
condition. Susmiati, 13, was showing some improvement despite
cries of pain.
All three were admitted to the state-owned hospital's
intensive care unit for children on Thursday, April 17, Abdul
said.
They were brought to Jakarta because they were not getting any
better at Abdul Muluk Hospital in Bandarlampung.
One hundred and ninety-two Sabuk Indah primary school students
became sick earlier this month in Lampung after eating mung bean
porridge prepared by some of the parents.
The porridge was provided as part of a supplementary food
program.
The meals program was set up to help the children's growth and
development. It targets 1,365 elementary schools in 635
underdeveloped villages (IDT). Each school has about 300
students.
Parents take turns to prepare the meals that are provided free
three times a week at a daily cost to the government of Rp 350
(15 US cents) a child. The meals are paid for by a special fund,
Inpress, established by a Presidential instruction.
Abdul Latif said Susmiati's condition was improving and she
could now cry and move.
Fitriani and Purnomo were still on respirators, he said.
"All three children are given liquid meals through a feeding
tube inserted through their mouths to their stomachs," he said.
Their intake is related to their body weight, he said.
Abdul said intravenous calorie intake ranged between 100 and
125 calories for every kilogram. Fitriani weighs 18 kilograms,
Poernomo 20 kilograms and Susmiati 31 kilograms, he said.
Meanwhile, Fitriani's father, Tugiran, has kept vigil outside
the ICU room since the day his daughter and the two other
children were admitted.
He is still hoping for a speedy recovery.
He said earlier that the government had promised to cover the
costs of Fitriani's and the other children's medical treatment.
An official at the Lampung administration dormitory in West
Jakarta, Suprianto, said Lampung's provincial administration was
arranging the children's parents' accommodation and transport
here. (01)