Leptospirosis death toll up to 13, denied by agency
Leptospirosis death toll up to 13, denied by agency
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Three more people succumbed to the fatal post-flood disease
leptospirosis, bringing the death toll to 13, even though the
City Health Agency claimed that the figure was lower.
Staff at the city-run Tarakan Hospital on Jl. Kyai Caringin,
Central Jakarta, said that the three people died since Monday.
"One of them died just last night," one staff member, speaking
on the condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday.
Despite the hospital statement, the agency's emergency
division chief, Sri Henni Setyowati, maintained that the true
number of the fatalities was only 10, pointing to agency
statistics since March 5.
Most of the dead were elderly people.
So far, the increasing number of dead does not seem to have
prompted the agency to handle the problem more seriously.
Henni only urged the people to stay alert over leptospirosis,
which emerged after the floods, telling residents to keep healthy
and adhere to clean hygienic practices.
"People must stay alert for the disease, moreover, as the
mortality rate is increasing, reaching 20 percent," she told
reporters at the City Hall.
Governor Sutiyoso announced earlier that leptospirosis
sufferers would receive free medical treatment at city-owned
hospitals, including the Tarakan Hospital, Pasar Rebo Hospital in
East Jakarta, and Koja Hospital in North Jakarta.
Henni said that the free treatment for leptospirosis patients
would be financed by the agency's post-flood fund of Rp 4.3
billion (US$430,000) from the 2002 City Budget.
Sutiyoso had ordered the agency to take firm action against
the disease but, until today, there have been no clear measures.
The agency has only called on people to keep their
neighborhoods clean.
Residents took the initiative to kill rats in their
neighborhoods. The neighborhood chiefs even offered between Rp
1,000 and Rp 3,000 for each rat killed by residents.
Sutiyoso had said that the administration did not allocate
funds to finance the rat hunting.
The disease spread after rats' habitats were deluged by the
massive floods of January and February. Specifically, the urine
of rats contaminated water supplies and garbage which had piled
up during the floods.
The leptospire bacteria enters a human body through wounded
skin, and causes symptoms including high fever and vomiting.