TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Dozens die of diarrhea in Papuan villages
Change Size
People on a boat pass a pier on Namatota Island in Kaimana, West Papua. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
A
t least 37 people died in a bout of diarrhea that has struck four villages in Awena district in Lanny Jaya regency in Papua since December 2016.
Eighteen people died in Tinggira village, 13 in Eyuni village, three who were from Yugimia and three residents of Indawa village.
There are also four people currently being treated in the Tiom regional hospital in Lanny Jaya, the regency secretary Christian Sohilait said on Wednesday. Dirty water consumption was believed to be behind the outbreak.
“The water sources in the villages are natural water ponds that had long been used by the villagers. However, the ponds have been contaminated by human and animal waste. The villagers still use it for their household needs without properly boiling the water,” he said on Wednesday adding that a sample of the water had also been delivered to a laboratory in Jayapura for further research.
(Read also: E. coli bacteria contamination rampant in Yogyakarta: Survey)
The Lanny Jaya administration had sent a team of doctors to the four villages and distributed medicines. The team would disseminate information about healthy lifestyles, which included distributing pots to locals to promote the boiling of water. The Papuan provincial administration would also prepare reservoirs to channel clean water from wellsprings. (rin)
