Alarming rise in Malaria outbreaks in Indonesia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): There has been an alarming increase in malaria
\noutbreaks in Indonesia in the past few years, with some areas
\nshowing a 200 percent rise in the number of reported cases.<\/p>\n
Officials attribute the rise to, among other things,
\nenvironmental changes, relatively high population mobility and
\nrefugees.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare reported on Tuesday
\nthat between 1997 and 1999 there was a more than 200 percent
\nincrease in malaria cases in Java and Bali.<\/p>\n
Outside of Java and Bali there was an increase of 56.25
\npercent.<\/p>\n
The number of malaria cases in Java and Bali -- except for
\nJakarta -- increased from 12 cases per 100,000 people in 1997 to
\n38 cases per 100,000 in 1999, with the most occurrences in
\nYogyakarta with 35 cases per 10,000 persons.<\/p>\n
Outside of Java and Bali, from the 1,600 malaria cases per
\n100,000 in 1997, the figure increased to 2,500 cases in 1999,
\nwith the highest in East Nusa Tenggara with 16,290 cases per
\n100,000.<\/p>\n
That amounts to a total of about 15 million people who have
\nsuffered malaria in this country with a mortality rate of 30,000
\npeople.<\/p>\n
The ministry's Director General of Communicable Disease
\nControl and Environmental Health Umar Fahmi Achmadi highlighted
\nenvironmental changes as the cause.<\/p>\n
\"For example in Cilacap, Central Java, where farming land has
\nbeen converted into fish ponds, or neglected shrimp ponds which
\nhave become potential breeding grounds,\" he told reporters on
\nTuesday on the sidelines of a partnership meeting to eradicate
\nmalaria with the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/p>\n
Yogyakarta, he said, especially Kulon Progo, is prone to
\nmalaria due to its natural soil condition which contains a lot of
\nrocks.<\/p>\n
According to Umar, the clearing of mangrove forests, global
\nclimatic changes and the economic crisis also contributed to the
\nincrease of malaria cases.<\/p>\n
He added that the number of malaria cases was expected to rise
\nthis year due to the increasing number of refugee camps.<\/p>\n
\"Malaria is rampant in the camps,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Umar once mentioned that based on a brief survey, some 80
\npercent to 90 percent of refugees suffer from malaria.<\/p>\n
There is an estimated 800,000 refugees in the country who have
\nbeen displaced due to conflicts or natural disasters.<\/p>\n
Most of the refugees are in Aceh, North Sumatra, West
\nKalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, Southeast
\nSulawesi and Maluku.<\/p>\n
Umar also said that malaria patients had a tendency not to
\nfinish the full course of medication.<\/p>\n
\"They are usually reluctant to take medicine. The patients
\nstop taking medicine when they feel a little better, while in
\nfact they have to take it until they are really cured,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Such reluctance, he added, increases the medical cost tenfold.<\/p>\n
According to Umar, although malaria is an acute disease, it
\nclaims fewer lives compared to dengue hemorrhagic fever.<\/p>\n
\"But while it doesn't cause immediate death, it decreases
\npeople's productivity. It actually results in a higher economic
\ncost. That is why malaria is called the silent killer,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Umar said, regional administrations should not
\nhesitate in investing money for medicine in treat malaria.<\/p>\n
The government, he added, launched the Malaria Eradication
\nMovement (Gebrak Malaria) in April last year, particularly
\ntargeting susceptible areas including Central Java, West Java,
\nSouth Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi and East Nusa
\nTenggara.<\/p>\n
\"Eradicating malaria is one of our priorities this year,\" Umar
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The strategy includes surveillance, proper diagnosis and
\ntreatment, prevention, research and development, and increasing
\nhealth services.<\/p>\n
\"Hopefully in 2010, we can at least reduce malaria prevalence
\nby 50 percent,\" Umar said. (hdn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alarming-rise-in-malaria-outbreaks-in-indonesia-1447893297",
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