Malaria outbreak kills 54

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.