Malaria outbreak kills 54
Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Banyumas
An outbreak of malaria, a sometimes lethal tropical disease transmitted by the "bite" of Anopheline mosquitoes, had killed 54 out of some 10,000 people infected by the disease in Banyumas, West Java last month.
According to data at the Banyumas Public Health Center, malaria has infected more than 10,000 locals, mostly in the Tambak, Sumpiuh, Kemranjen, Banyumas and Somagede subdistricts.
Thousands of local people have therefore demanded that the local administration, including the health office, take necessary measures to fight the problem.
However, so far, the local administration has not taken any significant steps to help people fight the illness which is often fatal for the very young, very old or malnourished people. The residents claimed that the officials, instead, were busy arguing with each other about whether the death toll was accurate or not.
The residents of Sumpiuh district, presumably having given up on local government officials, decided to officially request god's help to stop the spread of malaria in their district.
On Sunday at least three hundred people gathered at the Ketanda village hall in Sumpiuh to hold a mass prayer, asking for their god to save their village from further calamity.
People from neighboring villages also joined the mass prayer.
Many of them burst into tears while unceasingly chanting and screaming La Ila Haillallah (There is no God but Allah). Some of them were hysterical and cried for their families or relatives who had died from the dreaded mosquito-borne ailment.
A great many of them said before the prayer started that they were praying on behalf of the tens of thousands of people living in the five districts who had been frustrated by the spread of the malaria.
They said that most of the dead people had suffered from similar symptoms; chills and high fever.
Meanwhile, Choerul Mufid, chief of the Banyumas health office, claimed that malaria had claimed the life of only one person over the past month.
"It's true that the number of people infected by the disease has reached more than 5,000, but only one of them died," he said.
He said his office would immediately offer medication to all malaria sufferers in all villages in the subdistrict.
According to the data, in Sumpiuh, more than 8,400 people tested positive for malaria, and by Saturday 19 had died.
M. Najib, chief of Sumpiuh subdistrict, said malaria was on the rise in Bogangin, Selanegara, Banjarpanen and Ketanda villages.
"The villages, which were inundated for months following the rainy season, are fertile swampy land, ideal for the breeding of Anopheline mosquitoes," he said.
He called on villagers to visit the public health center to undergo a medical test or to get medication in order to help wage a war against the easily transferable disease.
"We have deployed a medical team and health workers to launch an antimalaria campaign in all villages in the subdistrict," he said.
In Kemranjen village, 27 people have died of malaria, with most of the dead victims passing away before obtaining medication because of a lack of funds. More than 4,000 others have symptoms of the disease.
"It is impossible for villagers to visit the public health center since they have no money because their paddy fields were damaged by the recent flood," Daroni, chief of the village, said.
Musadad Bikri'i Noor, a member of the Banyumas legislature's Commission E on social affairs, criticized the local administration's slowness in reacting to the epidemic.
"Besides being slow, the local administration has not been transparent in revealing victims of the epidemic. The most important thing is that all local people should be given malaria pills to help minimize the number of victims and the fast spread of the disease," he said.
He said he would ask the legislature to hold a hearing with the Banyumas regent to discuss the epidemic and would ask him to dismiss the chief of the local health ministry.