and Integrated Pest Management - part - usaid

IEALTH LAZARDS OF PESIfCIDE USE ININDONESIA 303
that the symptoms were due to influenza and a small sample felt that the
symptoms were because of inhaling pesticide. However, all the farmers in the
survey felt there was no need to go to a health center, and they believed that the
symptoms would disappear the next day.
In a period of eight years (1979-1986), 72 regencies (24%) reported that
pesticide poisoning cases had occurred in their working area, and almost all of
the reported cases were outbreak events, In Central Java and West Java
Provinces, cross checking on the recording of acute pesticide poisoning cases in
five regencies was lone during January 1987. It is known that during the five
years of 1982-1988, in the five regencies concerned, 570 acute pesticide
poisoning cases (those that sought medication at Health Centers) were recorded.
Only 152 cases (27%) were reported to the Sub-Directorate of Pesticides,
Directorate General of CDC & EH in Jakarta. Obviously, 418 single cases
(73%) were not reported at all. It should be noted that at the Health Centers,
doctors had received no special training to recognize and manage pesticide
poisoning. Data on pesticide poisoning cases during the period 1979-1986 in
18 provinces in Indonesia are presented in Table 1.
The cause of acute poisoning accidents is mainly food contaminated with
toxic chemicals. An example is a poisoning outbreak which occurred in
Boyolali Regency in October 1982. The number of cases was 386, with three
deaths. In order to identify the cause of the poisoning, laboratory tests were done
on suspected foods. The results showed that residues of DDT, aldrin and dieldrin
were found in the samples. Vegetable oil was found to contain cldrin of 2.083
ppm and DDT of 0.917 ppm. Two popular local foodstuffs, "limpung" and fried
"tempe", contained DDT of 26.824 ppm; fried cassava contained endrin of 0.032
ppm, dieldrin of 0.003 ppm and DDT of 0.592 ppm; "tempe bongkrek"
contained DDT of 1.140 ppm; "sambel pecel" contained DDT of 2.381 ppm;
"fried bakwan" contained aldrin of 41.758 ppm, dieldrin of 4.260 ppm and DDT
of 51.385 ppm. Victims' vomits were also examined but pesticide residues were
not found.
Table 1. Summary of pesticide poisoning cases in Indonesia, 1979-1986.a
Renorted by Toxicant
Year Prov Reg Case Death OP/C (C R PCP Others
1979 4 24 450 26 7 10 - 46 387
1980 2 7 100 10 - - 20 17 63
1981 7 11 133 17 51 44 1 - 37
1982 7 16 701 54 - - - - 701
1983 8 11 320 52 220 6 36 - 58
1984 11 11 153 18 74 1 1 8 :
1985 9 15 444 27 93 12 30 - 309
1986 6 13 404 32 37 12 10 - 345
TOTAL. 2705 236 482 85 98 71 1969
'l1rov = Province, Reg = Regency, OI/C = Organophosphate/Carbamate, OC =
Organochlorine, R= Rodenticide, PCIP = Pentachlorophenol.