17 die in diarrhea outbreak in Papua

A diarrhea outbreak in Papua has killed 17 people and affected hundreds of others in the past two months.

Authorities in Moanemani village, Dogiay regency, are still studying the causes of the epidemic. Officials in the provincial administration said they were facing difficulties providing medical teams and drugs because of the village's remote location and the lack of transportation facilities.

"The causes of the disease are still being analyzed. We have sent stool samples to the Dok II hospital in Jayapura for analysis," provincial health office head Bagus Sukaswara told The Jakarta Post in Jayapura on Wednesday.

Bagus said the outbreak began in April and a medical team from the Nabire health office and crisis center was sent to the area to treat patients.

"When the team returned on April 12, they reported 17 people had died and 198 were still under intensive medical treatment," he said.

Bagus said there were no new reports of casualties from the regency.

"The outbreak has been contained and the team has returned, indicating there's no more problems," he said.

Gede, a member of the medical team, said the outbreak was brought under control after the team showed the villagers how to administer the medical treatments.

"We brought a plane loaded with medicine and treated the villagers immediately. None of them complained of diarrhea after we left," he said.

Dogiay is a new regency formed after separation from Nabire regency.