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View all search resultsWorm infection case raises stunting concerns
If left untreated, infections of parasitic worms that usually affect children from underprivileged economic backgrounds will worsen the stunting epidemic in Indonesia, epidemiologists have warned.
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A health worker measures a child's height during the launching of an integrated health post (posyandu) on Aug. 11 in Surakarta, Central Java. (Antara/Mohammad Ayudha)
T
he recent death of a toddler in West Java has raised concerns over the prevalence of worm infection and its relationship to childhood stunting in Indonesia, with experts calling for more comprehensive health policies to address the underlying causes of stunting.
Raya, a 4-year-old girl who lived in poverty, died on July 22 after nine days of being hospitalized at the Syamsuddin Regional General Hospital in Sukabumi, West Java. She was admitted to the hospital in an unconscious state after showing symptoms such as fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.
While later examinations concluded that she died of sepsis caused by tuberculous meningitis exacerbated by malnutrition and stunting, the case went viral on social media after doctors retrieved live roundworms from her body.
According to a statement issued by the Health Ministry on Monday, the medical team found adult roundworms in her abdomen, although the worms did not cause any medical conditions that immediately contributed to her demise.
At the hospital, the doctors gave Raya worm medicine that led to “a significant number of worms” excreted through her feces.
Read also: Death of a four-year-old due to extreme worm infection sparks online outrage
The Sukabumi case raised public concern over the state of medical intervention for such parasitic worms.
