Lombok island suffers ‘extraordinary occurrence of malaria’ after series of earthquakes
Officials fear efforts to rein in the disease will be complicated by the arrival of the rainy season next month, as malaria-carrying mosquitoes breed in pools of stagnant water
Indonesia’s tourist island of Lombok is battling malaria, authorities said on Saturday, declaring a health emergency after a series of earthquakes in July and August forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
The quakes and aftershocks that killed nearly 500 people are estimated to have caused damages of 5 trillion rupiah (US$337.84 million) to hospitals and public infrastructure, among other buildings, on the island’s northern coast.
Lombok is less developed than its neighbouring island of Bali, which is Indonesia’s top tourist destination.
After the quake, aid groups said many of the hundreds of thousands left homeless were camping in open fields, refusing to seek shelter indoors as tremors continued.
Women and children are among the 128 people found to have been infected with malaria, said Rahman Sahnan Putra, the chief of the West Lombok Health Agency.
“It’s an extraordinary occurrence of malaria,” Putra said, confirming that an emergency had been declared.