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‘Worm’ Girl, 12, Gets SBY’s Assistance
Kinanti Pinta Karana & Camelia Pasandaran | January 22, 2010

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The sad and strange plight of 12-year-old Ummi Darmiati, from Mamuju, West Sulawesi, who is suffering from an infestation of worms nesting and growing under her skin, has led the president himself to intervene.

On Friday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the Health Ministry and the local health agency in Mamuju to do their best to help her.

“I have spoken to the Health Minister to intervene and take immediate action so she can be properly treated and her disease can be identified. Therefore, our curiosity will be satisfied,” he said.

Ummi’s mother, Suryani, said the disease afflicted her daughter two years ago. She could not afford to take Ummi to the hospital and sought alternative treatment instead. At home, she would pick the worms off Ummi’s body but it did little to ease her pain or reduce the number of worms.

Five days ago her family took her to Mamuju General Hospital because her condition began to deteriorate. Doctors were baffled. They referred Ummi to a hospital in Makassar but her family declined. Doctors persuaded the family to keep her in the hospital because her condition was critical. The worms kept multiplying and emerging from her body.

The president said the girl’s condition has improved at the hospital. “But medication must be continued,” he said.

Concerning the family’s finances, Yudhoyono said that while they were covered by public health insurance, he had instructed the Health Ministry “that we’re going to cover the medical expenses.”

He also reminded the public to not rely solely on alternative treatments to cure disease.

“This is an important lesson. A lot of cases get worse because people keep the disease to themselves,” Yudhoyono said. “I am asking the Health Ministry and the municipal government to keep educating the public. If you’re sick, go to a government health institution or hospital. Alternative medication should be used only when conventional medical care fails.”