A malaria outbreak has infected at least 137 people in Indonesia's West Lombok after the island was rocked by a series of earthquakes in recent months, an official said Sunday.

The quakes and aftershocks since July have killed about 500 people and forced hundreds of thousands into evacuation shelters or tents.

As a result the number of malaria cases is twice as high as in the same period last year, prompting the West Lombok government to declare a health emergency.

Among the 137 infected are babies and pregnant women.

The government has taken steps to prevent the disease from spreading such as taking blood samples, distributing mosquito nets and fogging.

Amaq Aniyah, 65, was diagnosed with malaria after feeling unwell for a week.

His house was destroyed by a 6.9 magnitude quake in early August and since then he has been living in a tent. Paramedics have given him a mosquito net.

"Ideally we should give mosquito nets to everyone but because we only have a few, we have to be selective," said paramedic Farlin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

The head of West Lombok regency, Fauzan Halid, told AFP they only have 3,000 mosquito nets but need about 10,000.

Declaration of a health emergency will allow West Lombok to seek 3.4 billion rupiah ($230,000) in aid from the provincial and central government to tackle the crisis.

Indonesia's rainy season is expected to start next month, raising fears malaria-carrying mosquitos could breed in stagnant water.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Deadly 'rat fever' in flood-ravaged Indian state
Kochi, India (AFP) Sept 4, 2018
"Rat fever" and other diseases have killed 14 people in the southern Indian state of Kerala after the worst floods in almost a century, authorities said Tuesday. The separate death toll from the monsoon floods that forced more than a million people from their homes in Kerala last month has meanwhile risen to 486, the government said. "We had anticipated leptospirosis (rat fever) due to contaminated water and are taking all measures to distribute preventive drugs in camps," Kerala health director ... read more