Post-flood disease leptospirosis kills eight
Ahmad Junaidi The Jakarta Post Jakarta
At least eight people have died following the recent floods as a result of a infectious disease called leptospirosis, which is carried by rats, an official said on Tuesday.
Head of the Jakarta Health Agency A. Chalik Masulili revealed that the leptospire bacteria spread through the urine of rats, whose habitat was destroyed by the floods.
Masulili said the bacteria then infected people who had skin wounds when they came into contact with contaminated water and garbage. Leptospirosis causes high fever and vomiting and has an average incubation period of 10 days.
"Actually it is not a serious disease, but it can kill the patients if they do not receive immediate treatment," he said in a hearing with the City Council's Commission E for social welfare affairs.
But, he said the mortality rate of the disease is relatively high with an average of 7 percent for people under 50, and about 56 percent for people above 50.
He said that most victims received treatment too late because they were not aware of the disease and thought it was just a common fever.
The eight victims were among 17 people who have been receiving treatment for the disease at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. One of the eight victims, identified as Tarkim Juari, died in the hospital on Feb. 14. The 55-year old man was a resident of Kedaung Kali Angke, Cengkareng, West Jakarta, an area hit by the recent floods.
Jakarta is the eighth province in the country where the disease has spread after the floods. The other provinces include West Java, Central Java and Yogyakarta.
The number of fatalities in other provinces due to the disease in unknown.
Masulili said patients who suffered from the disease could be cured with antibiotics, such as penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline or erythromycin.
"A high dosage of penicillin or tetracycline is the best treatment," he suggested, adding that the city's 267 community health centers have been informed of the disease and provided with the medicines.
The health agency had been criticized for its inefficient health policy and slow response to the health problems emerging after the floods.
Masulili warned the public to be aware of the disease and to take preventive measures, such as washing their hands and feet with soap after cleaning their neighborhoods.
He suggested people whose work was related to sanitation, should wear boots to avoid infection with leptospire bacteria.
Official data showed that at least 22 people have died as a result of flood-related diseases, mostly diarrhea and leptospirosis, since the floods hit the city at the end of January and early February. The city administration has allocated Rp 11.98 billion (US$1.1 million) for a post-flood health program which will be used to provide free medical treatment and medicine.
The Rp 11.98 billion is part of Rp 251 billion earmarked for post-flood rehabilitation programs this year.