Wild Animals, Uncaged Livestock Hindrance to Schistosomiasis Control in Central Sulawesi

Livestock that are not kept in cages and wild mammals such as dogs and rats are a challenge in controlling schistosomiasis or snail fever in Central Sulawesi. Drug dependence on foreign countries further exacerbated the situation.

The Agriculture Office of Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, revealed that the limited availability of praziquantel has resulted in efforts to treat livestock infected with schistosomiasis not take place optimally in the last two years. Until now, because it has not been produced domestically, the drug supply still comes from abroad.

“Because in Indonesia there are only such cases in Napu, so these drugs are not available. If there are imports, (the price) is expensive and the Regional Government (Regional Government) has not been able to afford it yet,” said the Head of the Poso District Agriculture Office, Suratno, to VOA when met some time ago.

Suratno is concerned that the inadequate availability of drugs can increase the prevalence of cases of infection in livestock in the Napu and Bada highlands in the Poso Regency area, which before the COVID-19 pandemic had been reduced to four percent.

Communities are Encouraged to Cages Livestock

According to Suratno, the Agriculture Office of Poso Regency continues to urge the local community to pen livestock, such as cows and buffalo, to prevent the spread of snail fever cases. However, until now, people tend to ignore this warning and prefer to release their livestock freely in the pasture.

If not in cages, said Suratno, livestock infected with schistosomiasis will spread harmful worm eggs through their feces. Worm eggs that hatch in stagnant fresh water will enter an intermediate host, namely slugs or snails oncomelania hupensis lindoensis, which is endemic to Central Sulawesi. Humans have the opportunity to become infected if they move around the snail’s location without personal protective equipment, as well as mammals that graze and drink water in the snail’s location.

“The animals in question are not only livestock, but also wild animals, for example dogs and rats. That’s the most difficult for us to handle. However, as long as the cattle don’t roam in watering places, it’s somewhat safe,” said Suratno.

In 2022, the Poso District Agriculture Office will hold a number of programs to prevent infection in livestock, namely by making shallow wells and optimizing swampland so that no land is stagnant.

The potential for infection in humans is still high

On a separate occasion, the Head of the Central Sulawesi Provincial Health Service, doctor I Komang Adi Sudjendra acknowledged that schistosoma cercaria infections that cause schistosomiasis in humans in the Napu, Bada and Lindu highlands will still occur if the worm eggs are sourced from the faeces of infected livestock and wild rats. still continues to be available in that environment.

“If we continue to intervene in humans, how about we look again at animals? The egg production is not only done by humans, has the animal been kept in a cage, is it wild, right,” said I Komang, Saturday (11/2).

According to him, cross-sector collaboration is needed to carry out environmental engineering at the snail focus location. The Central Sulawesi Provincial Health Office revealed that as many as 257 people were infected with schistosomiasis in 2022 based on the results of a stool examination survey which is conducted once a year.

It is likely that the findings of human infection cases will affect the target for eradication in 2025, which requires that there is no single occurrence of schistosomiasis in humans, mammals and intermediate snails for five consecutive years.

Until now, Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia that still has schistosomiasis problems. The case of schistosomiasis in Central Sulawesi was first discovered in 1937. However, efforts to control it only started in 1973. [yl/ab]