Government to fight malaria outbreak<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): The government will conduct a five-month
\nprogram to contain the outbreak of malaria in Java and Bali,
\nfollowing a recent outbreak of the disease in villages at the
\nfoot of Menoreh mountain that borders regencies in Yogyakarta and
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
Director General of Contagious Diseases Eradication and
\nEnvironmental Sanitation Umar Fahmi Achmadi said here on Tuesday
\nthat the program, conducted in collaboration with the World
\nHealth Organization (WHO) and the U.S. government, will focus on
\nvillages in the Central Java regencies of Purworejo and Magelang
\nand their neighboring regency of Kulon Progo in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The three regencies are considered areas most prone to the
\ndisease in Java,\" Umar said.<\/p>\n
Umar was speaking at the Central Java's Ministry of Health and
\nSocial Welfare office to promote the program. He is also slated
\nto brief health officials in Yogyakarta and Surabaya.<\/p>\n
In targeted villages, the effort will include spraying
\ninsecticide in all homes and distributing treated mosquito nets
\nto residents.<\/p>\n
Stressing that malaria has become one of the country's top
\npriorities to eradicate, Umar said that all doctors in the areas
\nwill monitor residents for active cases of malaria and provide
\neffective drugs to treat cases when they occur.<\/p>\n
\"However, the local community will play the leading role in
\ndetecting malaria cases, observing proper treatment and
\nmonitoring side effects of the medicines,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. government has provided US$500,000 to finance the
\nprogram.<\/p>\n
Technical assistance for the project will be given by WHO and
\nthe U.S. Navy Medical Research Unit No. 2 (NAMRU-2) which is
\nbased in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Some 50 years ago, a massive intervention effort supported by
\nthe U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was
\nsuccessful in eradicating malaria in Bali and East and West Java
\nand brought it under control in Central Java.<\/p>\n
The disease reappeared in mid-1990s, but the recent economic
\ncrisis has constrained funding for malaria control activities. As
\na result infection rates have accelerated and there is now
\npotential for endemic malaria to regain its foothold. (har\/bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-to-fight-malaria-outbreak-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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