T

he government called on newcomers to Poso and Sigi regencies, Central Sulawesi, on Tuesday to avoid contact with water to reduce the risk of contracting an endemic disease called schistosomiasis.

Poso Health Agency head Djani Moula said that as a preventative measure, every newcomer arriving in the regency would be warned not to use the water in the area to avoid being infected with worms known to cause schistosomiasis or '€œsnail fever'€.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by worms belonging to the schistosoma genus. There are three types found in humans: Schistosoma japonicum, Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni.

In Indonesia, Schistosoma japonicum is endemic in Central Sulawesi, namely in the Lindu and Napu plateaus in Sigi and Poso. The number of people at risk of contracting schistosomiasis is 15,000.

Djani said the disease could be fatal in a worst-case scenario. Sufferers can recover if properly treated, but the required medication is relatively expensive and is not available in pharmacies in Palu, the provincial capital.

'€œThe medicine has to be specially ordered from the WHO,'€ he said.

Separately, Central Sulawesi Health Agency head Anshayari Arsyad confirmed that cases of schistosomiasis had been found in Poso and Sigi.

In Poso, schistosomiasis has been found in five districts '€” East Timur, Lore Peore, Central Lore, South Lore, North Lore and West Lore. In Sigi the disease was found in five subdistricts on the Lindu plain.

'€œWe aim to eradicate the disease until the incidence rate reaches 0 percent,'€ Anshayari said.

He said the schistosomiasis incidence rate in Poso was 1.39 percent while in Sigi it was only 0.7 percent, following an eradication program conducted by his office last year.

So far, no fatalities have been reported as a result of the disease.

In a bid to accurately target affected areas in the fight against the spread of snail fever, a survey is to be conducted this year in 26 subdistricts across the regencies.

Schistosomiasis starts with the hatching of Schistosoma japonicum eggs in water, called mirasidium, which penetrate the bodies of snails and develop into sporokista I and II, before becoming serkaria.

'€œIt'€™s this serkaria that swims in the water in search of a new host,'€ Anshayari said, adding that serkaria could survive in stagnant water for 48 hours before finding a new place to grow.

Anshayari said serkaria could infect 13 mammals including humans, deer, cats, hog deer, cows, horses and buffalos.

Serkaria infects humans through the pores and enters the blood stream before laying eggs in the intestine.

Symptoms of snail fever include coughing and swelling of the stomach. The disease needs an incubation period of 20 years before killing a human sufferer.

The most dangerous scenario, according to Anshayari, was when serkaria reached the liver, where it could grow into adult worms. When the worms lay eggs, they make holes in the walls of the intestine and cause sufferers to defecate blood.

When numerous eggs become trapped in the liver, the body produces connective tissue around the eggs, causing the liver and spleen to swell. This causes victims to suffer from jaundice, weight loss and distended bellies.

Research on schistosomiasis in Indonesia began in 1940, after the disease was found in Tomado subdistrict on the Lindu plateau in 1935.