Ekari people


The Mee are a people in the Wissel Lakes area of Papua province, West Papua, Indonesia. They speak the Ekagi language.

Epidemiological significance

In the 1970s, an investigation was conducted by Indonesian physicians concerned about the high rates of Ekari people hospitalized for burns. The study revealed many Ekari people were suffering from neurocysticercosis, caused by the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, which had been previously unseen in Papua New Guinea. As a result, many had been suffering seizures while in close proximity to fires, injuring themselves in the process. Pigs infected with the tapeworms had been introduced to the island previously by the Indonesian military.

Representations in media