Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Tue, 04/08/2008 City
Elephantiasis is widespread in 14 districts in Tangerang, the Tangerang regency health agency has said.
The agency has recorded a dramatic increase in the disease in the districts in recent years.
The districts are Cisauk, East Sepatan, Balaraja, Pamulang, Tigaraksa, Pondok Aren, Pakuhaji, Cikupa, Rajeg, Mekar Baru, Sepatan, Ciputat, Teluk Naga and Cisoka.
"We declare a district (prone) to elephantiasis when a survey finds more than five residents who suffer from it," Yuliah Iskandar, head of communicable disease prevention at the agency, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Elephantiasis is caused by parasitic worms carried by mosquitoes. The first case in the latest epidemic in Tangerang regency was found in 2001.
"The results of the survey we conducted in February found there were 81 cases. But the latest survey, which we conducted last week, showed another 40 new cases so the total number of sufferers has reached 121. Most of them were found in four districts," she said.
Yuliah said the agency started identifying the spread of elephantiasis in 2005 by conducting door-to-door surveys and taking blood samples from village residents.
"We continued the survey because the fight against elephantiasis has become a priority in the health agency program," she said.
The agency found not only had the number of cases increased, but also the disease had spread to more districts in the regency.
In response to the report, the agency has placed 10 health officers in each district prone to the disease.
"They are assigned to give medical treatment to sufferers. They will also carry out a mass treatment program for the patients in 60 out of 131 villages in the districts in the near future," she said.
The agency will distribute diethylcaebamazine citrate (DCC) with albendazole for sufferers during the mass treatment.
"The mass treatment in the districts will be held once a year for five years. We will also continue to look for new cases by taking blood samples from 500 more residents in each district," she said.
Elephantiasis cases from Feb. 1 to April 7, 2008
Districts
1 Cisauk 15 cases 15 cases 2 East Sepatan 11 cases 13 cases 3 Pamulang 9 cases 11 cases 4 Balaraja 6 cases 8 cases 5 Cikupa 6 cases 8 cases 6 Tigaraksa 7 cases 7 cases 7 Pakuhaji 7 cases 7 cases 8 Sepatan -- 7 cases 9 Rajeg 6 cases 7 cases 10 Mekar Baru -- 6 cases 11 Cisoka -- 6 cases 12 Pondok Aren 5 cases 5 cases 13 Ciputat -- 5 cases 14 Teluk Naga 1 case 5 cases 15 Kosambi 2 cases 4 cases 16 Kelapa Dua 3 cases 3 cases 17 Jambe 2 cases 3 cases 18 Pasar Kemis 1 case 1 cases
Total 81 cases in February dan 121 cases in April
No comments:
Post a Comment