Tulungagung Health Office Identify 8 Malaria Cases

JAKARTA - The Health Office of Tulungagung Regency, East Java identified eight new malaria cases during the first five months of 2025.

Head of the Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) Division of the Tulungagung Health Office, Desi Lusiana Wardani, on Sunday explained that most of the cases came from outside the region and were carried away by immigrants or residents who worked in endemic malaria areas.

He said the case was found between January and May 2025, and it is believed that it did not come from local transmission.

"Most patients have a history of travel or work in endemic areas such as Papua and Kalimantan. After returning to Tulungagung, they were detected as malaria positive," said Desi, quoting ANTARA, Sunday, July 6.

He said the distribution of cases was recorded in Besuki, Ngunut, Boyolangu, and Gondang sub-districts.

From this area, Besuki is considered to have the most ideal environment for breeding mosquitoes that cause malaria because of his geographical condition which is dominated by freshwater and brackish waters.

The type of malaria detected in Tulungagung is Plasmodium vivax, which generally causes mild symptoms without complications.

However, the Health Office continues to take strict surveillance measures to prevent local transmission.

"Although the type is not deadly, malaria still needs to be watched out for because the potential for local transmission can arise, especially in areas that geographically support the life cycle of malaria vectors," he explained.

Based on annual data, the number of malaria cases in Tulungagung shows a downward trend. In 2023 23 cases were found, in 2024 21 cases, and until mid-2025 8 cases were recorded.

Desi added that population mobility to endemic areas is still a major challenge in malaria elimination efforts.

The potential for local transmission has also increased along with the high activity of migrants, especially in coastal areas.

"The weather does not affect the life cycle of malaria much. Therefore, if local transmission indications are found, we will immediately conduct an Epidemiological Investigation (PE)," he said.