Find 85 Kusta Cases In Sampang, East Java, Health Office: 2 Of Them Children

JAKARTA - The Health and Family Planning Service (Dinkes-KB) of Sampang Regency in East Java (East Java) found as many as 85 people suffering from vagrant diseases and currently they are receiving special treatment from local medical personnel.

Acting (Plt) Head of the Sampang Regency Health Office-KB Dwi Herlinda Lusi Harini said the findings of residents suffering from insults were based on the results of tracking carried out by the medical team from January to June 2025.

"Of the 85 cases we found, two of them were children," he said in Sampang, East Java, Saturday, July 13, as reported by Antara.

He explained that the findings of residents suffering from grief this time were less than in 2024 which reached 164 cases, and in 2023 there were 233 cases.

According to Herlina, the finding of this new case is an important indicator that public awareness of realizing disease still needs to be increased.

"Kami akan terus melakukan pencarian aktif terhadap penderita agar dapat segera ditangani. Target kami, 2029 Kabupaten Sampang bebas kusta," kata Herlina.

Herlinda said that Sampang Regency had recorded a significant decrease in prevalence of silting, from 4.81 per 10,000 population in 2014, to 1.83 in 2021.

However, this trend will change in 2024, with prevalence increasing back to 2.27 per 10,000 population.

Since 2014, the cumulative total of cases in Sampang has reached 483 cases. Although on aggregate there has been a decline from year to year, the number of new cases discovery in a short period of time confirms that there is still an active spread in the community.

Currently, he continued, various efforts continue to be made as an effort to overcome it. Among other things, through increased socialization, early detection, and community involvement in supporting the recovery and elimination of stigma.

The Health Offices of Sampang Regency also invite all parties to care so that their body is no longer a hidden burden that is too late to be handled.

"Strengthening the number of people with fire is not easy. There are several main challenges that are still being faced, such as the high social stigma for people with fire," he said.

In addition, the lack of understanding from the public, delays in diagnosis and treatment, lack of case tracking activities in the field, and limitations of cross-sector coordination and budget allocation are also obstacles.

However, continued Herlina, his party did not remain silent. A series of innovative and breakthrough activities have been carried out, one of which is through the "Kusta Friends Village" program.

This program empowers health cadres at the village level about engineering and pattern of handling them.

Another program that has also been carried out is PDKT with Kumis Pak Kades (Peduli Kesehatan Kulit with Communication on Changes in Village Community Behavior).

According to Herlina, PDKT with Kumis Pak Kades is one of the innovations to bring the screening service closer to the village community.

"Through 'PDKT', we invite village heads, community leaders, and survivors to let residents check more openly. As a result, the discovery of the case of death becomes faster," he said.