There were 54 Cases of Lymphedema in Indonesia in 2024: Here's the Distribution

Filariasis, or elephantiasis, is a disease caused by filarial worm infection transmitted through mosquito bites.

The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) recorded 54 positive cases of filariasis in Indonesia throughout 2024. This data was obtained from filariasis examinations in 18 regencies/cities involving 29,078 people.

The following is a list of regencies/cities with the highest number of positive filariasis cases nationally in 2024:

1. East Kotawaringin Regency: 27 cases
2. East Kutai Regency: 9 cases
3. Tana Tidung Regency: 5 cases
4. Bintan Regency: 5 cases
5. Nabire City: 2 cases
6. Batang Hari Regency: 2 cases
7. Keerom Regency: 2 cases
8. Kuningan City: 1 case

Taniawati Supali, a lecturer at the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, stated that filariasis is the second biggest cause of economic hardship in the world after mental illness.

"Filariasis exacerbates poverty because sufferers lose their ability to work and are ultimately ostracized by society," said Taniawati in an online press conference on Thursday (30/1/2025).

According to her, one of the main challenges in eliminating filariasis in Indonesia is the large number of infected individuals who have not yet shown symptoms.

“Infection takes 5 to 8 years to develop into a visible condition, so many healthy people actually already have worms in their blood but don't feel sick,” said Taniawati.