Malaria death toll reaches 107: Councillor

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Banyumas

Banyumas Legislative Council's commission E chairman Musadad Bikri Noor said here on Tuesday that 107 had died from malaria between August 2001 and January this year, despite consistent denials from the health office, which claimed that only one person had died from malaria last December.

"These figures are based on the reports made by village and district heads that we collected during our recent impromptu visits to four districts. The reports say that as many as 107 people died from malaria between August of last year and this January," he said after the commission's meeting.

Previously, the councillors said that malaria had killed 54, and on Saturday the commission revealed that the death toll had reached 60.

Musadad said that the fatalities were reported in ten villages. "Twenty-three people died in the villages of Bogangin, Selanegara, Banjarpenepen and Ketanda in the district of Sumpiuh. In the villages of Karanggintung, Karangmalang, Peterongan and Alasmalang in the district of Kemranjen, 46 people were reported dead from malaria. In the village of Kemangi and Tenggeran in Kemranjen district, 30 people died, and another eight fatalities were reported dead in the village of Watu Agung in Tambak district."

Musadad said that no laboratory tests had been conducted to prove that all 107 victims had died from malaria. But he said they had suffered from symptoms very similar to those of malaria.

He added that around 10,000 people were still being treated for the disease.

The Ministry of Health had earlier said that all provinces in the country, except Jakarta, had areas vulnerable to malaria, with Irian Jaya heading the list.

Central Java was also said to be malaria endemic.

The Banyumas Health Office head Choerul Mufied was sticking to his claim that only one person had died from malaria, but he admitted that thousands had been treated for the disease. "Most of the patients are residents of Ketanda, Watu Agung, Karangsalam and Karanggintung villages."

Commission E, which is responsible for public welfare, also recommended that the Health Office be transparent about the number of fatalities and patients hospitalized due to malaria.

"The Health Office has tended to cover up the case. It's a fact that thousands of people have suffered due to the deaths of relatives and family members," Musadad said.

He added that whatever the name of the disease that was striking the regency, it was a reality that many people had died. "There must be something wrong and the Health Office should have been proactive in responding to the situation."