More malnutrition cases recorded in Makassar Andi Hajramurni ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Makassar   |  Thu, 02/19/2009 2:13 PM  |  The Archipelago The South Sulawesi capital of Makassar has seen a recurrence in malnutrition cases, after Labuang Baji Hospital reported Wednesday it was treating three infants suffering from malnutrition and related symptoms, such as diarrhea and pneumonia. The infants, from low-income families, remained in an apparently weakened condition, lying in bed, emaciated, with intravenous drips attached to their hands and legs. One of them, 11-month-old Raihan, the son of Gowa residents Zainal and Hasnah, both 25, also has a cleft lip. He was brought to the hospital after suffering from diarrhea for the past week. Zainal said his son was earlier treated twice at Kalong Tala Hospital in Gowa, but eventually moved to Labuang Baji Hospital. Doctors at Labuang Baji Hospital diagnosed him as suffering from malnutrition, because he only weighed 3.7 kilograms, whereas the normal weight of infants his age is between 7 and 8 kilograms. Another patient, 5-month-old Reski, from Jl Daeng Regge in Makassar, only weighed 3 kilograms, compared to the normal weight of infants his age of around 6 kilograms. He was diagnosed with pneumonia. According to his grandmother, Reski was abandoned by his father when he was suffering from whooping cough for a month. He had been treated at the Ujungpandang Baru community health clinic several times, but his condition had not improved. "His cough hasn't stopped, so I took him to the hospital," said Harmiah, adding Reski's mother was also sick. Fourteen-month-old Subir's condition is more serious because he suffers from kwashiorkor, or acute malnutrition, characterized by a distended stomach. He only weighs 7.5 kilograms and had to be administered with albumin. Subir, who has been treated at Labuang Baji Hospital since Feb. 9, is also suffering from pneumonia. Child specialist Maryam, who is treating the three infants, said Subir's condition was the worst because he was suffering from acute malnutrition. "The three were brought to the hospital with accompanying illnesses, such as pneumonia and diarrhea, but after we diagnosed them, it turned out they also suffered from malnutrition," she said. She expressed regret the clinic and hospital treating them before had failed to intervene much earlier. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/19/more-malnutrition-cases-recorded-makassar.html