Jakarta Globe 27 Mar 12;
The Health Ministry has ordered all community health centers to be on standby to treat a potential outbreak of skin rashes caused by contact with the rove beetle, as reports of bug attacks begin coming in from outside Java.
Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the ministry’s director general for environmental health and disease control, said on Monday that his office was closely monitoring reports of attacks by the beetles, known locally as tomcat bugs, and coordinating prevention and treatment efforts with provincial, district and municipal health officials.
“In Surabaya, for instance, all community health centers have been placed on standby and are prepared to provide free treatment and medication for patients who have come into contact with tomcat bugs,” he said.
The bug infestation was first reported in Surabaya earlier this month, with scores of residents complaining of severe rashes after coming into contact with fluid secretions from the insect.
Tjandra said most of those affected were generally in good health and only suffering from skin irritations.
“They’ve just got dermatitis, with symptoms of itching, burning sensations and in some cases hyperpigmentation [localized darkening of the skin],” he said. “It will all clear up in about 10 days.”
He added that clinics in Yogyakarta were reporting similar symptoms among residents there who had come into contact with the beetle.
Tjandra played down the idea that the infestation was an unusual event, pointing out that those affected in Yogyakarta had acknowledged that the local tomcat population regularly peaked six weeks into the rice-growing season and would stay that way until the harvest.
The beetle is usually found in moist areas such as rice paddies and swamps, and is known for feeding on smaller insects that attack rice crops.
Tjandra said although the rashes and irritations were not a new disease and should not prompt excessive concern, the Health Ministry had ordered quarantine officials at ports and airports in high-risk areas to fumigate their facilities to prevent any bug attacks there.
The skin irritations can be transmitted to other people through towels, clothes or other materials that come into contact with the fluid contained in the blisters, Tjandra said previously.
The ministry’s latest warning on the issue comes as reports of tomcat attacks trickle in from outside Java. In Palembang, South Sumatra, a resident said on Monday that he and his family had come into contact with one of the beetles.
“We developed itchy rashes that we initially thought was from an allergic reaction,” said Tohir Sopyan, 45.
“But then we saw the news reports on TV and we were convinced that this was because of the tomcats.”
He added that after reporting the case to local health authorities, officials found several of the bugs in the neighborhood.
In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, 11 workers at El Tari Airport were reportedly suffering from tomcat-related rashes. Airport manager Imam Pramono said although the symptoms regularly cropped up this time of year, officials there had not known the cause of the rashes until now.
In Bali, health officials said the beetle was known to thrive in the local paddies, but there had been no reports of attacks yet.
Antara
Bogor Subdistricts Start to Feel Pain of Tomcat Beetle Attacks
Vento Saudale & Antara Jakarta Globe 27 Mar 12;
Bogor. Poisonous tomcat beetles have not only spread to a second subdistrict in Bogor, with three other victims reported in a village in Rumpin, but they have been reported in other districts on Java.
In Bogor, the tomcat beetle was found in Dramaga subdistrict, where it stung one person, and on Monday three victims of the poisonous insect were reported in Kampung Sawah village in Rumpin subdistrict.
Adam Glorawan, 6, from Kampung Sawah was first diagnosed as suffering from herpes because he had blisters, but he did not suffer from the symptomatic fever. The tomcat beetle, whose poison causes serious skin irritations that can later develop into blisters, also affected a 17-year-old uncle of Adam and a 28-year-old neighbor.
Bogor district health office chief Tri Wahyu Harini said that officials were not checking the reports.
“We did some monitoring at the location but cannot ascertain what the victims are suffering from,” Tri said.
Rumpin health clinic chief Yusnizar Ikbal also said that “it cannot yet be ascertained whether the irritation is due to the poison excreted by the tomcats or from something else.”
However, Yusnizar said that the insect had been sighted within the village.
In West Java, two other districts have reported people stung by the beetle, which looks similar to an ant but has a more elongated body with orange and black segments. The fluid it excretes contains paederin, which can cause rashes or blisters within 24 to 48 hours of contact with the skin.
Garut district health office chief Dede Rohgmansyah said on Sunday that at least 17 villagers from Mulyajaya had reported rashes that appeared to have been caused by tomcats. Medical tests proved those suspicions to be correct.
Tomcats, also known as rove beetles, have also been found in the Cihideung subdistrict of Tasikmalaya, West Java.
“Tomcats entered my house and I found 15 of them. I immediately killed them,” said Nanang, a resident of Cihideung who has since left the house with his wife and young child and sought temporary shelter at the home of his parents in the neighboring Garut district.
He said he killed them by spraying them with insecticide.
According to the South Tangerang health office, a 7-month-old baby was stung by the beetles.
Health office chief Dadang M. Epid said the baby was from the Pakulonan ward of North Serpong.
Two other area residents were reported to have suffered rashes caused by the insect, but further tests were not able to establish that, he said.
Dadang added that the district would pay for the baby’s medical treatment.
He said that although poisonous, the tomcats were actually beneficial to farmers because they ate eggs of wereng, a pest that is harmful to rice.
Tomcats are also believed to have poisoned dozens of people in Dempo in the Pasean subdistrict of Pamekasan on Madura Island, said a local district councilor, Suli Faris.
Suli said the tomcats started inflicting pain on their victims about three days ago.
Another district councilor, Khairul Kalam, said, “I found two tomcats in my bathroom at home, which is near rice fields.”
State news agency Antara said tomcats were reported in six other subdistricts in Pamekasan.
Tomcat attacks were first reported in the East Java capital of Surabaya, where 149 cases had been recorded as of Wednesday.
