Four-year-old Santou is suffering from acute malnutrition and currently undergoing intensive treatment at the Tenriawaru General Hospital in Bone regency, South Sulawesi.

Santou was transferred to the hospital on Thursday after his condition deteriorated while being treated at a community health center in Tellu Limpoe, Bone.

Santou is one of 23 people in Bone regency, mostly children, who have been identified as suffering from acute malnutrition since January.

Herniati Djamsiah, healthcare and community service division head at the Bone Health Office, said Friday that five of the 23 people had died.

Herniati said her office aimed to eradicate malnutrition and had established a team to promote public awareness and conduct intensive door-to-door inspections.

"The team has conducted an intensive drive and found 23 people suffering from malnutrition," Herniati said.

Many of them were children under five.

Of the 23 patients, 11 have been diagnosed as suffering from acute malnutrition.

But Herniati said the cause of death was often not malnutrition as such but accompanying illnesses.

"Only three died of malnutrition, while the others died from infections, such as upper respiratory infections and diarrhea," she said.

She added that those found suffering from these illnesses would be immediately referred to the hospital to get treatment and food supplements.

"A patient suffering from simple malnutrition recuperates faster than those with accompanying diseases," Herniati said.

Bone recorded 108 malnutrition patients in 2007, of which 25 suffered from acute malnutrition.

According to Herniati, malnutrition in Bone resulted from residents' low education levels and economic hardship.

Poor families in Bone account for 37,427 of its total population of 137,214.

Bone is not categorized as one of the nation's least-developed areas. Rather, with the Bone Bay, it is rich in natural resources such as agriculture, plantations and fisheries.

According to official data, South Sulawesi is one of five provinces with a high prevalence of underweight children -- an indication of nutrition problems. The other provinces are East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua.

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