Contaminated water cause gastro outbreak

Irawaty Wardany ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Fri, 03/28/2008 11:27 AM

The gastroenteritis outbreak that killed four people and left 178 hospitalized in Karangasem regency was caused by water contaminated with e-coli bacteria, Bali Health Agency confirmed.

Samples taken from water sources and reservoirs in the area were contaminated with e-coli bacteria, head of Bali Health Agency communicable disease division Ketut Subrata said.

"I have received the laboratory results today and they show the cause of gastroenteritis is e-coli bacteria," Subrata told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.

Subrata said they had conducted health education programs targeting villagers in the affected areas.

"We have also chlorinated water sources in all areas that are prone to the disease," he said.

Two casualties died from gastroenteritis, while another two died due to complications from diseases triggered by the gastroenteritis infection, Subrata said.

One of the victims was Jro Mangku Wayan Keman, a temple priest of the Puseh temple at the Bukit Galah village in Selat.

Karangasem, in Bali's east, is one of the poorest regions on the island with a large number of its residents living without access to proper sanitation facilities.

Sub-districts of Selat and Bebandem were worst hit in the outbreak. The local health facilities in those areas were overwhelmed by the number of the patients who sought treatment.

The local health authority established emergency command posts in sub-districts to assist local health workers.

On March 28, Karangasen Regent I Wayan Geredeg declared the gastroenteritis epidemic as an "extraordinary occurrence", because of the speed at which it had spread.

"Extraordinary occurrence" is the official euphemistic term for epidemic, and the declaration meant the government would pay for all the medical expenses incurred by the epidemic.

Geredeg has disbursed Rp 2 billion (US$217.592) from the regency's disaster fund to deal with the epidemic.

The local health authority stated the gastroenteritis outbreak began last week on Thursday. Initially it started at Sebudi village in Selat sub-district and at Jungutan village in Bebandem sub-district. The outbreak later spread to other villages in those sub-districts, before infecting villages in the neighboring sub-district of Sidemen.

However, Karangasem regency's public relations division head Nyoman Agus Sukasena said the number of patients receiving treatment for gastroenteritis at the local hospital and community health centers had decreased significantly on Wednesday.

"Two days ago there were still 33 patients at Karangasem Public Hospital and 11 patients at Selat community health center. Yesterday we recorded only 21 patients in the hospital and 14 in the community health center," he told the Post.

He said most people consumed water from the cubang (rain reservoir) and some of them did not even boil the water before consuming it.

Even though Karangasem health agency officials regularly educated people about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, there were still some who ignored the call, he said.

"I've talked to some of the patients who said they used to drink water directly from the cubang," he said.

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