Cases Of Diarrhea Are Quite High, OKU People Are Urged To Avoid Consumption Of River Water For Prevention

Head of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the OKU Health Service Andi Prapto. (ANTARA/Edo Purmana/23)

OKU - People of Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU) Regency, South Sumatra are advised to avoid consuming river water for their daily needs to prevent the spread of diarrhea which is currently spreading. "Especially for residents who live along the Ogan Watershed (DAS), the majority of whom rely on river water for their daily needs," said Head of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the OKU Health Service Andi Prapto in Baturaja, quoted from Antara, Monday, September 11. Andi added that the number of diarrhea cases in his area was relatively high, where based on data recorded for the last seven months in the January-July 2023 period reached 1,411 cases. According to him, the high number of cases was due to the dry season which had an impact on the community's clean water needs, which decreased, triggering the spread of diarrhea. "Although cases are relatively high, it is still at a safe level because no OKU residents have died due to diarrhea," he said. During the long dry season like today, the quality of river water has decreased so that many bacteria can trigger various diseases such as diarrhea. In addition, the culture of throwing garbage in the Ogan River by residents makes the quality of river water worse and more concerning. "Therefore, avoid consuming river water as much as possible to maintain the body's health from the disease," he said. "If you are forced to consume drinking water sourced from the river, you have to cook it first until it is cooked at 100 degrees Celsius," he said. As an effort to anticipate diarrhea so as not to spread widely, he said, the OKU Health Office is currently intensifying socialization about the importance of implementing a Clean and Healthy Lifestyle (PHBS).

The socialization carried out through health workers in all health centers in OKU Regency is to educate the public to implement PHBS in their daily lives. "PHBS is like keeping the surrounding environment clean, including not using river water for consumption during the dry season," he said.