No cholera found in post-tsunami Aceh: Ministry
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.