Six die, 266 others hospitalized in Lombok malaria outbreak

Six die, 266 others hospitalized in Lombok malaria outbreak

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post/Mataram

At least six people have died and 266 others have been treated at
local hospitals and community health centers in East Lombok since
a malaria outbreak was first detected in the regency at the end
of October.

The outbreak struck three subdistricts in the regency
concentrating on the Ijobalit and Sekarwangi areas, with the six
dead and 232 other people contracting the disease there. The 34
other cases were found in Pijot.

In order to prevent more fatalities, the local government has
alerted health centers to prepare more medicines and import
doctors and nurses. Regional administrations are also carrying
out fumigation efforts to reduce the number of malaria-carrying
mosquitoes.

Officials called for residents to quickly bring their children
to hospitals if they had high fevers or showed other malaria
symptoms.

"The quicker the residents bring their children to hospitals,
the bigger the possibility the children could be saved by
doctors," West Nusa Tenggara Health Office chief of disease
eradication Thamrin Hijaz said.

Thamrin said about 70 percent of the cases were of the
virulent and deadly falciparus malaria strain, which attacks the
brain.

Thamrin said while malaria was endemic in East Lombok regency
every wet season, he was surprised at the high numbers of cases
this year.

Last year, malaria also struck West Lombok but many less
people were infected with the virus, he said, without giving
details of the numbers.

Thamrin blamed the increase on poor sanitation in the area,
which created a sanctuary for malaria larvae to breed.

Meanwhile, as reports of the malaria outbreak reached Jakarta,
the Ministry of Health reportedly donated thousands of mosquito
nets to the residents in the affected areas.