Outbreaks of disease spark fear of second wave of deaths after Indonesia quake

Daroyah and her youngest son, Yanwar Antianto, stand in the rubble of their ruined home. CARE is helping with shelter materials and safe water. (©2006 CARE/Josh Estey)

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (June 8, 2006) - With an active volcano spewing toxic gas and lava nearby, health experts are warning that an even greater threat to the earthquake survivors in Java is the outbreak of disease and water-borne illnesses such as diarrhea, typhoid and hepatitis.

Outbreaks of tetanus and diarrhea have been reported across the earthquake zone, and two people have already died. The earthquake destroyed sanitation systems and contaminated many safe water sources, leaving the disaster zone increasingly dangerous for the spread of disease, said Dr. Endang Widyastuti, CARE’s emergency program coordinator in Yogyakarta.

“The first step is to provide safe water, but right now there is not enough,” she said. “People do not have latrines. Water sources are becoming more contaminated. This is a huge problem. Many of these diseases can be prevented with safe water, but the donations have not come in to allow us to do our jobs. There are as many as 650,000 people left homeless, and they all need clean water.”

Outbreaks of diarrhea are occurring in Bantul and Klaten, the two hardest-hit areas after the May 27 earthquake. Diarrhea can be extremely dangerous for young children; if not treated properly, a young child can die of dehydration within a week. Tetanus cases are also on the rise. Injured people with open wounds can become infected by sleeping outside in unclean areas or by washing the wound with contaminated water – which makes safe water all the more critical, says Dr. Endang.

CARE is providing water purification solution to 40,000 families in Klaten, along with jerry cans to keep the treated water free of further contamination. Families receive training on how to use the simple solution, which is added to water to purify it. One 100ml (3 fluid ounces) bottle is enough to purify water for a family of five for one month, and costs about 30 cents.

 “It is cheap to distribute, easy to use, made locally, it has proven to be effective in tsunami zones in Aceh and other parts of the world, and we are able to distribute it immediately,” said Dr. Endang.

The emergency response after the December 2004 tsunami was able to avoid an anticipated second wave of deaths because there was enough money for the government and aid agencies to respond immediately.  But so far, donors' financial response to the Java earthquake has been much slower than after the tsunami, although more Indonesians have been displaced by the current crisis.

“The same kind of support should be available to the earthquake survivors in Java,” said Dr. Endang. “And now people are dying. This does not have to happen. It should not happen. We can prevent this, but we need more funding.”