The case has underlined fears of a disease outbreak in and around Jakarta, where half a million people have been forced out of their homes by the worst flooding here in years. At least 50 people have died.

Many people have had no choice but to wade through the filthy waters which swept through the city, and children have been seen swimming in the streets despite the health risk.

Sarnata, who uses only one name, was admitted to hospital on Thursday morning in the acute stage of leptospirosis, the official Antara news agency said. His kidneys were damaged and he was losing consciousness.

"Sarnata has entered the third stage of the disease. He cannot speak because his brain is damaged," the agency quoted Nazir, a doctor at a Jakarta hospital, as saying.

"There are three stages of leptospirosis, with early stages showing high fever, muscle pains, red eyes ... the worst will damage the brain and can be irreversible," the doctor said. There was no word on the second person's case.

Leptospirosis, which causes high fever and painful joints, is treated with antibiotics. It is rarely fatal, although kidney or liver failure, or meningitis, can result.

Hygiene and clean water supplies remain a problem as flood waters begin to recede and people return to tidy up their sodden homes.

Water supplies were disrupted after part of Jakarta had its electricity cut for safety reasons when floods began to cover the capital last week, although the situation is slowly returning to normal.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it was setting up equipment in the north of the city capable of supplying 240,000 people with clean drinking water.

"Many people have not had access to safe water for a week and we are concerned that the lack of safe water could lead to an outbreak of diseases among children," UNICEF representative Gianfranco Rotigliano said.

UNICEF and aid groups were also providing other needed supplies to flood victims.

"We are distributing hygiene and food packs to flood victims in Jakarta," Indonesian Red Cross spokeswoman Aswi Nugroho told AFP.

"On Monday we will start distributing disinfectants and also spray neighbourhoods that are beginning to clean up their environment," she said. The aid group was also helping to supply drinking water to some of the worst-hit areas of Jakarta.

Several countries and non-governmental organisations have offered assistance, including former colonial power the Netherlands, the European Union, Australia and the United States.

Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar has blamed the floods on excessive construction on natural drainage areas, but city governor Sutiyoso said it was a "cyclical natural phenomenon."

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