Tangerang holds mass treatment for elephantiasis

Multa Fidrus ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Tangerang   |  Sat, 06/13/2009 1:17 PM  |  City

In an attempt to prevent the spread of elephantiasis across the regency, the Tangerang administration initiated a mass treatment program Friday targeting the disease at public health clinics in 31 districts.

"We have set a target of zero cases of elephantiasis in Tangerang regency by 2015," Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar said during the opening of the mass treatment program in Rajek district.

Accompanied by councilors, officials from the Health Ministry and district officials, Ismet took some of the medication, which is called filariasis, in front of local residents to rally public participation.

"I encourage all residents to take the medicine that will be distributed to public health clinics in respective districts starting today, so that we can prevent elephantiasis," he said.

The head of the Health Agency Hani Haryanto said the mass treatment targeted more than 2.5 million people out of a total 3.5 million people living in 300 villages.

He said the health agency started the mass treatment program because Tangerang was prone to the spread of the disease.

"Therefore, we prepared a program designed to eliminate elephantiasis, which has continued to rise over the past few years," he said.

Data at the agency showed there had been 228 cases of elephantiasis in 18 districts in Tangerang regency over the past eight years.

Hani said the mass treatment program was made possible by assistance from the Health Ministry. The ministry provided the medication, while the agency spent Rp 1 billion from the budget to cover distribution costs.

The medication, which is a mix of diethylcaebamazine citrate, albendazole and paracetamol, was distributed to residents for free throughout 40 clinics in the area.

Elephantiasis is caused by parasitic worms carried by mosquitoes. It causes permanent disability to victims because of swelling and disfigurement the disease causes in the arms, legs, thighs and even genitals.

The first case in the latest epidemic in Tangerang regency was found in 2001.

"We have mobilized all agency officials and paramedics at all public clinics, including the cadres of integrated health posts *posyandu* in the program," Hani said, adding that by consuming the medicine regularly once a year over a five-year period, people would become permanently immune to the disease.

Yuli Sunar Dewanti, the head of communicable diseases and environmental sanitation at the agency said that as of this year, the agency had declared elephantiasis endemic in 60 villages in 15 districts.

She said the actual number of people living with elephantiasis in the regency may have doubled from those identified so far, as detection of the disease had been difficult.

The disease has been on the rise in the regency over the last four years, with eight cases in 2005, 37 in 2006, 81 in 2007, 92 last year and 18 as of May this year.

The health agency has so far declared 15 of the regency's 31 districts elephantiasis-prone, including Ciputat, Pondok Aren, Teluknaga, Cikupa, Rajeg, Pamulang, Balaraja, Sepatan, East Sepatan, Cisauk.

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