Malaria kills 11, infects 400 others in N. Sumatra
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
An outbreak of malaria has plagued the province of North Sumatra in recent months, claiming the lives of at least 11 children and infecting hundreds of others, according to local health officials.
Most of the deaths occurred over the last two months in the isolated village of Rianiate, some 40 kilometers from the South Tapanuli capital of Padang Sidempuan.
However, the head of the South Tapanuli health office, Syah Sinar Rambey, said on Wednesday the number of deaths had sharply increased over the last two weeks.
He said the regency administration was providing health care for at least 413 people believed to be suffering from malaria.
At least 63 of these people have had blood tests performed by the health office to determine if they are suffering from malaria, he added.
The dead have been identified as Saima, 13; Asma, 9; Masriani, 4; Salwa, 9; Defsi, 5; Banteng, 2; Risna, 4; Darwin, 12; Riski, 11; and Sahniar, 11 -- all residents of Rianiati. The 11th victim was an unidentified child from the resettlement village of Bukkas.
Rambey said the malaria outbreak was the result of an absence of proper drainage systems in some villages in the area, many of which were built on converted swamp land.
"So every time it rains, water stagnates there, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes carrying the malaria virus," he added.
He said his office had established community health posts in the villages battling malaria to help residents eradicate the disease. "We are also asking people to get rid of stagnating water in their houses as part of the efforts to fight malaria."
The outbreak of malaria prompted South Tapanuli Regent Shaleh Harahap to visit the affected villages of Rianiate and Bukkas on Wednesday, where he handed over money and medical aid to the sufferers.
He said on Thursday that the difficulty in reaching the isolated villages had caused the late arrival of medicine, contributing to the quick spread of malaria.
Meanwhile, legislator Ali Umar Tanjung urged the Medan administration to take "concrete measures" to help the victims in order to prevent further deaths.
There also have been malaria outbreaks in at least 11 regencies in Central Java, including Banyumas, Cilacap and Banjarnegara and Kebumen.
More than 125 villagers have died of malaria in Cilacap, Banyumas and Banjarnegara since floods hit the regencies last October. The death toll rose after nine more deaths were recorded in Kebumen late last month.
Thousands of other people in the province have been infected with malaria.
More than 30,000 people living in coastal and swampy areas in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya have died of malaria over the last five years.
Last month, Minister of Health Ahmad Sujudi visited affected villages in Banyumas to visit malaria sufferers, and handed over Rp 500 million to purchase one ton of ICON pesticide.
The local health office has since sent workers to spray pesticide in at least 15,000 houses in four subdistricts to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
However, the use of ICON to eradicate malaria has sparked a new problem, as the pesticide is considered a threat to the health of residents.
The coordinator of the Pesticide Action Network (PAN), Riza V. Tjahjadi, said on Wednesday the use of ICON was dangerous because it could poison people.
So far there have been no reports of illnesses caused by ICON, though Riza said the pesticide contains an active poisonous substance.