Posted in

Silent Invasion to the Highland

Malaria and dengue mosquitoes propagate quickly to the highland, which is almost impossible to find a decade ago. Global warming triggered the epidemic.

Ekuatorial, Ternate and Cimahi – Until now, malaria and dengue fever still become a pandemic in various tropical countries. Indonesian Health Ministry also said cases of malaria in Indonesia is still high, 70 percent of which occur in the eastern region, especially in Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku, Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara.

According to the Director of Disease Control Ministry of Health Animal Sourced Andi Muhadir, until mid-2013 cases of malaria was recorded in 31 provinces with a patient 48 905 people. Of that number 376 fatalities, which is the highest mortality rate in Southeast Asia.

Malaria endemic regions in Indonesia spread over 84 district or municipality with a population of 16 million people at risk.

Vulnerable Zone
The study of the Climate Change Research Centre-University of Indonesia (UI RCCC) concluded, on 21 District / City studied, all of which have a high degree of vulnerability to outbreaks of malaria and dengue fever, due to their inability to cope with the impacts of climate change.

The study also concluded that a temperature rise of 2 to 2.5 ° C by the year 2100 or by decade reached 0.2 ° C can cause changes also in the mosquito vector of dengue fever and malaria.

Head of Research RCCC-UI Budi Haryanto concluded, “The increase in temperature can make the average life cycle of the mosquito becomes shorter, but the frequency of eating more often.” That is, climate change has led to rising temperature of the earth’s surface can trigger malaria and dengue fever into malignant.

On average the optimum temperature for malaria mosquito breeding is in the range of 25-27 degrees Celsius and a life time of 12 days. But because of global warming, mosquitoes were able to adjust to a warmer environment, and the optimum temperature reproductively be 32-35 degrees Celsius.

Conditions warmer temperatures this speeds up the metabolism of mosquitoes, so precocious but his time only seven days. Over the span of a week that is, the frequency of eating is also becoming more frequent and faster, while the body size smaller and more nimble.

Is climate change also causes many cases of malaria in the city of Ternate? “Yes, it is felt,” said Iswahyudi, manager of Malaria Center North Maluku province, while describing the effect of climate change to the image of the graph up and down the peak of the spread of malaria in the city.

Ternate, he said, before the year 2008 has always suffered malaria peak in the period of October and April or during the period of the rainy season, with twice the peak of the epidemic.

However, from 2009 peak of the epidemic it became four times. This was due to more rain fell in the summer should have been entered.

The increase in the frequency of rain also causes sunken land along the coastal mangrove ecosystems in Ternate in recent years continue to waterlogged. In addition to rain, tides cause puddles that never dry out.

Waterlogged area that is usually surrounded by mangrove plant that is now the ideal location malaria mosquito breeding and participated in its eradication difficult.

Spread to Highlands
Malaria cases occurred in Papua and Papua New Guinea are very popular in the eyes of the world researchers. In both locations, they came to the conclusion that malaria has spread to areas far higher, where some twenty years earlier almost impossible to find mosquitoes because of cold temperatures.

Cold temperatures that make the tribes of the highlands of Papua known “immune-malaria” until the early 1960s.

Changes occur when the timber industry and plantations into Papua, then cleared the forest or open land on a large scale. Damaged forests also means destructive malaria mosquito habitat.

As a result, they spread up to an altitude of 3,600 m that once the temperature is often below 16 ° C, minimum temperature limit malarial mosquitoes to live.

In 2010 for example, the Center for Biomedical Research and Development of Papua ensure malaria has spread to Homeyo District, Intan Jaya regency, Papua, where at an altitude of 1,900 meters above sea level (masl), and an average temperature of 19-25 ° C. As a result of the attack, 40 people from four villages died.

Meanwhile in Cimahi, West Java province, at an altitude of 1,075 meters above sea level until now known to be quite mild, with average air temperature of 18-22 ° C, but is now starting to feel the sting of the malaria mosquito silent. Head of Section for Disease Control Health Office Cimahi Rina Kuswidiati analysis of why this city had contracted malaria.

He called malaria in Cimahi were “imported cases,” the article of thousands of soldiers coming and going to the city, many of them only stayed a short time but others charge for a long time there.

“Many soldiers came from or served long enough in Eastern Indonesia, that may have been infected with malaria and bring it here,” he said.

In Cimahi, malaria was stormed in a silent because without warning suddenly attacked, Although the attack was coming every year, but Rina sure will soon be over. “In Cimahi malaria mosquito breeding site does not exist, because there is no brackish water ecosystems, wetlands or coastal areas. Cimahi not suitable areas for the anopheles, “he said.

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever
Another mosquito sting joined together indicate changing climate and the warming of the earth’s surface temperature is the Aedes aegypti vector of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). During the period 1968-2009 WHO noted that Indonesia as the country with the highest cases of dengue fever in Southeast Asia.

Health Ministry data show that in 2008 cases of dengue fever in Indonesia as many as 137 469 cases, the number of deaths reached 0.86 percent, or more than 1,200 people died in vain.

The following year recorded 154 855 suffering from dengue fever, the number of deaths reached 1,316 cases, and in 2010 Indonesia highest rank in the case of Southeast Asia, namely 156 086 cases with 1,358 deaths of people.

In 2011, dengue cases fell to 49 486 cases with 403 deaths.

Until now there has been found an effective vaccine or drug to cure a disease spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Invasion of dengue arguably almost evenly distributed throughout Indonesia in recent years, both at low and high plains.

Since 2013, reports of dengue fever from towns plateau before valve cool like Bandung, Lembang, and PANGALENGAN began to be recorded in the health department.

Among the cities in West Java, Cimahi is one of the most severely exposed to dengue fever, after they invaded malaria.

Mosquitoes action in City Army
Providing shelter thousands of soldiers, does not necessarily make the mosquitoes wryly. Cimahi dubbed Army town, because there stood 31 training centers and the headquarters of the army and police, even entire villages totaling 15 the status of endemic dengue.

In 2013 the city was ranked 13th nationally the number of DHF patients with morbidity or attack rates reached 55 per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Dengue mosquito activity is usually two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset, at around 9-10 am and 4-5 pm. However, warmer temperatures have shortened the life cycle of dengue and make them more active eating, such as finding RCCC-UI, so it can attack from morning to evening without interruption.

The soldier town had also experienced a remarkable occurrence of dengue in 2007 and occurred back in 2012, so some sort of a five-year cycle. Usually the number of people with the highest explosion occurred during January and February, and then rose again in June-July.

But the pattern has now changed, because in recent years it rains throughout the year so that the peak of the distribution change. “Changes in precipitation patterns and summer that causes dengue fever peaks evenly every year,” said Rina Kuswidiati of the local health service.

Due to changes in the pattern of attacks that, Rina sure the spread of dengue affected by climate change, because the life of the mosquito Aedes aegypti is very concerned with the environment temperature and rainfall.

The problem, the Government Cimahi difficult to predict the arrival of the rainy season. “If the long rains season then not be a problem because the eggs of mosquitoes carried by rain.

In fact, the last few years the rains interspersed with dry, drought continued to rain again and again, so constantly changing, “he said, as he continued,” Because it could come every year, now dengue in Cimahi not participate five-year cycle again. ”

Aedes mosquito is known like a clean place to breed, such as clean water, cement-floored house, it is nicknamed “mosquito elite.”

However, the dengue mosquito can still survive in their natural habitat as between midrib leaves, rotting tree trunks or leaves that hold water. The eggs can survive for six months in a dry place, and proliferate when the rain comes.

Water and Waste
Usman, a laborer in a garment factory and has 14 years of living in Cimahi been twice attacked by dengue. When Guinea visited his home in the border city of Cimahi, Bandung, it turns out he lived in a tenement fairly clean, never looked rubbish, there is also no stagnant water or hanging clothes.

Ventilation in the house is equipped with mosquito netting. He also admitted quite often drain the tub and put on insect repellent spray. “I was exposed to dengue while working in the factory, because there is stagnant and dirty water channels, plus a lot of water reservoirs for textile dye mixture,” he said.

Cimahi has developed into an industrial city, and dozens of textile mills, apparel and leather industries stood there. Its population rapidly increased, coming from various corners earn a fortune in the dozens of existing factories.

The official website of the town of Cimahi admit it began to face the problem of waste and garbage are dumped into the environment. Poor Similarly, several regions in Cimahi becomes denser than other regions, because the factory workers from out of town scramble hire boarding house or rent a house not far from where they work in the city center.

The first recipe for the spread of malaria and dengue fever was owned by the City of Cimahi: trash, damp places, and a puddle of water in various parts of the city.

IGG Maha Adi (Jakarta), Januar Hakam (Cimahi, Ternate)

There are no comments yet. Leave a comment!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.