Diarrhea outbreak kills 9 in Polman

Andi Hajramurni ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Makassar, South Sulawesi   |  Fri, 06/12/2009 9:52 PM  |  National

Diarrhea outbreak has affected 1,200 people in the last two weeks in the West Sulawesi town of Polman, killing nine of them.

The local health agency has declared an extraordinary status in Luyo district, where medical workers recorded 396 cases of diarrhea, five of them were fatal. Head of the agency Ayub Ali said belated medical treatment was responsible for the deaths.

The outbreak has also spread across neighboring districts of Mapilli, Campalagian and Wonomulyo. “The disease has been endemic there, with outbreak taking place every year,” Ayub said.

The disease affected 2,800 people and killed 28 of them in the previous outbreak between October and December last year.
 
Ayub said the health agency had opened community posts to provide medicines to patients and distribute water disinfectant and promote healthy lifestyle. “The problem is many residents drink river water which may have been so polluted that disinfectant can no longer work,” he said.

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