For instance, ISPA (Acute Respiratory Infection or ARI), diarrhea, and hypertension.
Cianjur, W Java (ANTARA) - The Cianjur District Health Office, West Java Province, has prepared four field community health centers (puskesmas) to strengthen the provision of health services for residents affected by last week’s earthquake.

"There is one field puskesmas in Nagrak Village, two field puskesmas in Cugenang Sub-district, and one field puskesmas in Warungkondang Sub-district," Head of the Cianjur District Health Office Irvan Nur Fauzy informed at the hall of the Cianjur district head here on Tuesday.

He said that his office’s focus is to protect the community from environment-based diseases, which have the potential to cause an outbreak after an earthquake.

"For instance, ISPA (Acute Respiratory Infection or ARI), diarrhea, and hypertension," he added.

He said that cumulatively, more than two thousand people have been infected with ARI, almost two thousand people have suffered from diarrhea, and one thousand people from hypertension.

In addition to the field puskesmas, the office has deployed mobile puskesmas to prevent disease transmission among the survivors of the 5.6-magnitude quake, which struck Cianjur District on November 21, 2022.

The office head said that the large number of refugee camps has become a challenge for his office in providing health services to the affected residents.

“We will place (health) volunteers both at centralized and independent refugee camps. We will optimize it (the deployment of health volunteers) in centralized shelters," he added.

Meanwhile, his office will dispatch the mobile puskesmas to independent refugee camps which do not have any health volunteers.

According to the National Disaster Management Agency’s (BNPB’s) data, 3,175 medical personnel have been deployed to treat residents affected by the earthquake in Pacet, Cugenang, Gekbrong, Warungkondang, Mande, Cilaku, Cibeber, and Cianjur Sub-districts.

The dispatched health workers include general practitioners, specialist doctors, nurses, nutritionists, midwives, pharmacists, environmental health workers, therapists, and psychologists.

BNPB noted that as of Tuesday (November 29), the earthquake had claimed 327 lives, while 13 people remained missing. The disaster also caused 108,720 residents to flee their homes.


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Translator: Ajat Sudrajat, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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