Hospital crowded with diarrhea patients
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang
The sound of babies crying filled the air at WZ Johannes Hospital's pediatric ward in Kupang on Thursday. A paper sign stuck to the ward's door read, "diarrhea patients only".
Inside, nurses were busy making the rounds, with eight children under the age of one lying weakly on hospital beds, being fed intravenously. Parents were also in attendance, though some babies had no one but the nurses to take care of them.
In other wards, seven men and five women were also being treated for diarrheal diseases.
In the hospital's emergency room, four children had been treated since early on Thursday.
"All four were suffering from diarrhea," said a hospital worker.
Wearing nothing but a white cloth wrapped around him, eight- month-old Karel Sulla lay on his back in a bed in the emergency room. Since early that morning he had discharged runny stools 26 times.
The baby boy was referred to the hospital by a doctor who took on his case after his condition quickly deteriorated at home. However, as there was no space in the pediatric ward, he was treated in the emergency room.
In the last two weeks, 12 children in East Nusa Tenggara have died of dehydration after suffering diarrhea. Eleven of them were from Timor Tengah Selatan regency and the other one from Kupang municipality.
In the same period, more than 350 children in 11 villages in Timor Tengah Selatan regency's six districts and 50 children in Kupang city underwent treatment for diarrhea.
The actual number of people with a diarrheal disease could be higher than reported since many of the sick are from low-income families for whom medical treatment is a luxury they cannot afford.
Many of the children at Johannes Hospital were brought there by their parents who had been promised free medical treatment.
Hironimus Kana, the father of one-year-and-two-month-old Yesica Puteri Kana, earns a living selling vegetables.
"My wife and I sell vegetables. Every day, we go from one house to another, selling vegetables in a pushcart. My baby stays home with her two little brothers. Maybe she got diarrhea because she drank water that had not been boiled or from playing in dirty places," the 46-year-old man said.
Hironimus said he was unable to buy medicine for his sick girl although her hospital stay was otherwise free.
"We're poor, we have no money. Every day there's a prescription from the doctor. We heard that poor families get free treatment. The reality is different, we have to buy our own medicine," he said.
A recent examination by a medical team of several water sources in Timor Tengah Selatan regency showed high contamination of E. coli bacteria. For instance, the E. coli contamination in the Oebena water source reached 84 ppm (part per million), Kusi 975 ppm and Tubuhue 975 ppm.
"According to health regulations, drinking water should have a 0 ppm level. For bathing purposes, it should be 12 ppm at most. If the level is higher than stated, it's dangerous for the health," said the head of Timor Tengah Selatan regency's Health Office, Markus Ng Righuta.