Water in Tual contaminated

TUAL, Maluku: Water consumed by 25,526 refugees seeking shelter from violence in their villages has been found to be contaminated, Antara reported on Tuesday.

The refugees have stayed on the islands in Southeast Maluku since March.

"Disease-causing bacteria has been found in water consumed by refugees on Kei Besar and Kei Kecil islands," Karin Hergarden, an official in charge of the international Medecins Sans Frontieres project, said on Monday.

Samples of water were taken from 38 locations in refugee sites by project workers.

Diseases present at the sites include diarrhea, dengue, malaria, respiratory problems and skin infections.

Studies were conducted in the refugee shelters including those of Elat in Kei Besar, the Ngadi fish processing plant, the military command in Kei Kecil, the naval base in Tual and in Dullah Darat village.

Hergarden said the high level of bacteria was caused by the way refugees collected water. Many of them had made holes in water distribution pipes, and some used containers that had traces of oil or other liquids present.

To date, 10 refugees have died of various diseases.