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Source: http://old.thejakartapost.com/detail...d=20081127.G01
Diarrhea pandemic death toll reaches 26
Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar
A Diarrhea pandemic has spread widely across West Sulawesi, claiming 26 lives in the past month. The areas worst affected by the disease are Polewali Mandar (Polman) and Majene regencies, an authority said.
Twenty-three of the victims were from six districts in Polman; including Pambusuang, Mapilli, Batu Panga, Kanreapia, Pekkabata and Campalagiang. The rest were from Majene.
The Polman Health Agency recorded 1,230 cases of the disease, a staggering 1000 of which were from Mejene alone. Of the affected, 150 received intensive treatment in hospital or community health centers.
The head of Polman Health Agency, Ahmad Azis, disclosed Wednesday that most of the victims died as they did not receive proper treated in time.
He added that the disease was able to spread so easily as residents consume polluted water. Floods that hit the region two months ago, coupled with the residents' sanitation habits allowed diarrhea to spreading widely.
"People keep consuming river water, which was of course contaminated by various bacteria in the wake of the floods," Azis said.
Meanwhile, West Sulawesi Governor Anwar Adnan Saleh said that this represents the worst pandemic in the past several years.
The province administration, he added, had sent an integrated team, including members of the Health Agency, the Social Services Agency and the Public Workers Agency, to prevent the disease from spreading more widely and to help the sufferers recover.
Anwar said that Polman and Majene, as well as Mamuju and North Mamuju, were prone to annual flooding, triggered by river overflow, as sedimentation and landslides often occur upstream.
"Polman and Majene are two regencies prone to flooding. Therefore, we need to pay attention to these areas as floods can trigger diseases, like diarrhea, to spread," Anwar said.
Besides floods, landslides also threaten the regencies, as a result of unregulated deforestation. Therefore, the administration has prepared measures to anticipate further damage as the rainy season gets into full swing.
"We have prepared members from the Public Workers Agency, the Health Agency and the Social Services Agency, including the heavy equipment department, to be ready to clean up after landslides and can help people when floods hit," Anwar said, adding that Rp 21 billion (US$1.6) allocated for the handling of natural disasters in 2008 had been used up.
Anwar added that he had proposed that legislators increase the budget for natural disaster recovery in 2009 and, in the meantime, administer additional funds for relief efforts.
Diarrhea pandemic death toll reaches 26
Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar
A Diarrhea pandemic has spread widely across West Sulawesi, claiming 26 lives in the past month. The areas worst affected by the disease are Polewali Mandar (Polman) and Majene regencies, an authority said.
Twenty-three of the victims were from six districts in Polman; including Pambusuang, Mapilli, Batu Panga, Kanreapia, Pekkabata and Campalagiang. The rest were from Majene.
The Polman Health Agency recorded 1,230 cases of the disease, a staggering 1000 of which were from Mejene alone. Of the affected, 150 received intensive treatment in hospital or community health centers.
The head of Polman Health Agency, Ahmad Azis, disclosed Wednesday that most of the victims died as they did not receive proper treated in time.
He added that the disease was able to spread so easily as residents consume polluted water. Floods that hit the region two months ago, coupled with the residents' sanitation habits allowed diarrhea to spreading widely.
"People keep consuming river water, which was of course contaminated by various bacteria in the wake of the floods," Azis said.
Meanwhile, West Sulawesi Governor Anwar Adnan Saleh said that this represents the worst pandemic in the past several years.
The province administration, he added, had sent an integrated team, including members of the Health Agency, the Social Services Agency and the Public Workers Agency, to prevent the disease from spreading more widely and to help the sufferers recover.
Anwar said that Polman and Majene, as well as Mamuju and North Mamuju, were prone to annual flooding, triggered by river overflow, as sedimentation and landslides often occur upstream.
"Polman and Majene are two regencies prone to flooding. Therefore, we need to pay attention to these areas as floods can trigger diseases, like diarrhea, to spread," Anwar said.
Besides floods, landslides also threaten the regencies, as a result of unregulated deforestation. Therefore, the administration has prepared measures to anticipate further damage as the rainy season gets into full swing.
"We have prepared members from the Public Workers Agency, the Health Agency and the Social Services Agency, including the heavy equipment department, to be ready to clean up after landslides and can help people when floods hit," Anwar said, adding that Rp 21 billion (US$1.6) allocated for the handling of natural disasters in 2008 had been used up.
Anwar added that he had proposed that legislators increase the budget for natural disaster recovery in 2009 and, in the meantime, administer additional funds for relief efforts.