Schistosomiasis no longer a big threat in Sulawesi

Ruslan Sangadji The Jakarta Post Palu, Central Sulawesi

The number of people infected with Schistosomiasis in two regencies here has dropped significantly, a senior health official said.

Natsir Borman, the head of Central Sulawesi Health Office, said that the decreasing trend was evident, for example, in Poso regency. In 1993, of the 213 residents in Dodolo Village in Poso Regency, 37 people were infected with Schistosomiasis (around 17.37 percent). In 2001, the number decreased to 12 people, and in 2002, only 6 people were infected with the schistosome, or parasitic worm.

"The decrease is mostly due to the awareness among locals of the importance of keeping their living environment healthy," he said on Tuesday.

The disease, which is said to prevail only in Napu Valley and Lindu Plain, in Poso and Donggala regencies respectively, is caused by worms emerged from snails. The disease is locally known as snail fever (Demam Keong).

The worms live in symbiosis with snails, and enter the human body through the anus. Once they are inside a person's stomach, they spread to the internal organs and cause tissue damage, which can be fatal.

The disease was first spotted in 1970 in the two areas. In the following decades it became widespread there due to the locals' habit of defecating outside, or without the use of a proper toilet.

In order to prevent the disease from spreading further, the Central Sulawesi Health Office, through a program called Central Sulawesi Integrated Area Development Project, has built 8,000 toilets for locals in the two areas.