Cases Of Boy Raya In Sukabumi And 1 Kg Ofworms Become Serious Warning Of The Community Health System

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JAKARTA - Former Director of Infectious Diseases of WHO Southeast Asia, Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, responded to the death of a child named Raya (4) in Sukabumi, West Java, with a body condition full of worms. He considered the case a serious warning to the Indonesian public health system.

"To understand the clinical state and the cause of death, we need to wait for an official and complete explanation from the hospital. Only after that can we draw the right conclusion," said Tjandra in Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, August 20.

Tjandra emphasized the importance of tracing the environmental conditions around the victim's residence in order to find out the potential for the spread of worms in residential areas.

He explained that the catfishing disease can be caused by various types of parasites such as Ascaris lumbricoides (cing bracelets), Trichuris trichiura (worming caning), Necator Astronus, Ancylostoma duodenale (miningcing), to Strongyloides stercoralis.

"The transmission is generally through worm eggs in feces that pollute the soil. Children can be infected when playing in contaminated soil and then insert their hands into the mouth without washing them. It can also be through polluted water," he explained.

Tjandra, who is now the Director of Graduates at YARSI University and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University, added that children with malnutrition are the most susceptible group to infection.

The WHO, according to him, has recommended four main steps in handling worms: regular administration of worm medicine, health education, sanitation improvements, and safe and effective treatment with drugs.

"WHO targets soil-based deworming disease (Soil-transmitted helmet) control by 2030. Indonesia needs to set a similar target if it is to achieve Indonesia Gold 2045 which is free of simple infectious diseases," said Tjandra.

Raya, a boy from Padangenyang Village, Sukabumi, is known to come from an underprivileged family. The father was in a sick condition, while his mother had a mental disorder. They live in a simple booth house, with the bottom of the house filled with chicken droppings, which is suspected to be the source of infection.

Raya was found in critical condition by a team of social activists and was hospitalized. However, various attempts to seek medical assistance have not yielded any results. During the treatment, the worms were removed from his body up to 1 kilogram.

CT scan results even show that eggs and worms have spread to his brain. Raya died on July 22, 2025.

This case sparked the concern of the Governor of West Java, Dedi Mulyadi. He highlighted the poor neighborhood and mentioned the weak function of posyandu, PKK, and village midwives as factors for delaying detection.

"The government will impose sanctions on negligent parties. This should not happen again," said Dedi.

Currently, the Raya family has been evacuated and received medical treatment because several family members are known to have tuberculosis.