No cholera found in post-tsunami Aceh: Ministry
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Ministry of Health has played down suspicions there has been an outbreak of killer diseases such as cholera in Aceh, which was devastated by last week's quake-triggered tidal waves.
The United Nations and aid groups had previously warned of the threat of a major disease like cholera, or dehydration caused by diarrhea claiming tens of thousands more lives.
An official from the Health ministry's Directorate General of Communicable Disease Control, Hari Santoso, said on Monday that so far his office had not received any reports of such outbreaks.
"I think it is not true if there are people claiming they've seen survivors suffering from cholera because it does not take only one day to determine whether a person suffers from such disease or not," Hari told The Jakarta Post.
A series of laboratory tests are required to determine whether a person is infected with cholera, and considering most laboratories in Aceh and tsunami-hit regions were destroyed in the disaster, such tests must be conducted elsewhere.
However, since cholera is characterized by diarrhea, people with no medical training might confuse the symptom of diarrhea with the disease.
Cholera is the illness caused by a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae. It is marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms, as well as leg cramps.
Floods, earthquakes or other disasters in developing countries are often followed by an outbreak of cholera, since it spreads quickly when infected people use already dirty water sources to clean themselves or dispose of waste.
Hari said that most of the Aceh refugees were currently suffering from trauma. Many had wounds and scratches on their bodies, diarrhea or malaria.
"So far, we haven't seen any signs of killer outbreak diseases but we'll definitely stay alert to that possibility," Hari said.
National Coordinator of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (Mer-C) Jose Rizal Jurnalis reaffirmed that most of the survivors were suffering from diarrhea.
"We still have not received any reports of cholera, but it's true that many people are suffering from diarrhea and respiratory problems," Jose told the Post.
He cited as an example that of 5,600 people who had attended one of the ministry's medical posts in Aceh, 700 were suffering from diarrhea.
The United Nations Children's Fund said it had received reports of children dying of pneumonia in Aceh.
Since the tsunami hit the region on Dec. 26, health infrastructure is gradually becoming more established, with more than 50 medical aid groups operating in Aceh.
Australian army engineers are also building a water purification facility on the edge of Banda Aceh's severely damaged city center as reported by AFP.
The setting up of the water purification unit is a significant step for the immediate rehabilitation of Banda Aceh, where the lack of safe drinking water has compounded fears of outbreaks of diseases.
According to government data, the number of people living in refugee camps in Aceh has risen to more than 270,000.
The Health Ministry's revised figure of 271,908, up from its previous tally of 198,906, only counts people living in established refugee camps.
The rise in the official tally is mainly the result of the number of people confirmed dead in Aceh's capital of Banda Aceh climbing from 18,000 to 30,000.
The island of Simeulue off the coast of northern Aceh has the largest number of people living in refugee camps with 73,015.
Aid organizations believe the number of people made homeless in Aceh by the tsunami disaster is far higher than the official refugee count, with many survivors still seeking shelter elsewhere, such as on roadsides.