Leptospirosis, chikungunya on the rise

[Snowy Owl]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]Leptospirosis, chikungunya on the rise[/FONT]
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20070220.@03&irec=2
​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tangerang[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]While the city's hospitals are still reeling from a surge of flood-related dengue and diarrhea, outbreaks of leptospirosis and chikungunya are knocking on the door. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Three city hospitals treated at least 30 flood victims Monday for leptospirosis, a bacterial disease transmitted through exposure to water contaminated with rat urine. One patient died, becoming the first victim of the disease this year. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The number of patients nearly doubled from the 16 seen the day before. Most of them are receiving treatment at Tarakan Hospital. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]A hospital staffer, Zuraidah, said all of the patients had undergone blood tests at the hospital's clinical laboratory and had been confirmed to be infected with Leptospira bacteria. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Zuraidah added that the patients were being treated in special rooms separated from other flood victims. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Complications such as renal and liver failure, meningitis and cardiovascular problems can ensue if the patient does not receive immediate treatment. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Tarakan Hospital reported it had recently discharged one leptospirosis patient because his condition had improved, although he had been admitted in serious condition. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Meanwhile, hospitals are still seeing increased numbers of dengue and diarrhea patients. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]As of Monday, 2,614 patients were being treated for diarrhea and 1,516 for dengue fever. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Another disease is threatening in Pamulang, Tangerang, where at least 18 cases of chikungunya have been confirmed in Pondok Benda subdistrict since early this month. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Forty-year-old Didi, a resident of Pamulang Permai II housing complex, said he had been bedridden since Friday. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"My hands and feet are swollen and covered with an itchy rash. I have to crawl to the bathroom," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"It's like having a fever. I feel cold and my joints ache. I also feel dizzy and have a constant desire to sleep. I thought it might be smallpox." [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]When his temperature began to climb, Didi went to Pamulang Medical Center for help. There he met many people from his complex, all with the same symptoms. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]However, Didi said no one at the center would tell him what was wrong with him. He found out from his neighbors. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Husein Taba, the neighborhood unit head of the housing complex, said the crippling mosquito-borne disease had been spreading at an alarming rate, with only one or two cases reported at the start of the month and 18 by the third week. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Pamulang district administration secretary Apendi said his office had received information about the outbreak and had instructed health workers to take blood samples from residents showing chikungunya symptoms. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"We have yet to receive the results," he said. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Yuliah Iskandar, the head of communicable diseases at the Tangerang Health Agency, confirmed there had been an outbreak of the disease in Pamulang. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]In Tangerang, there are only three chikungunya-endemic areas: Sepatan, Teluk Naga and Paku Haji. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Reports indicated Pamulang Permai II was among the housing complexes hit hardest by the floods. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Yuliah said funding shortages had hampered disease prevention measures, such as the fumigation of residential areas to kill adult mosquitoes. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]She called on residents to watch for symptoms of chikungunya and keep their environments clean to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. (04)[/FONT]