Dark clothes, perfume makes people more prone to dengue<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As the number of dengue patients continues to rise in hospitals
\nacross the city, a general practitioner is advising people here
\nto eliminate the possibility of getting bitten by a mosquito.<\/p>\n
Aside from asking the people to cover their water containers
\nand clean them regularly, the practitioner is also urging the
\npublic to change their lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\"Avoid using dark-colored clothing, perfume and cologne as all
\nthese attract mosquitoes, especially at night,\" Yohannes, a
\ngeneral practitioner of the International SOS in Jakarta, told a
\nseminar last week.<\/p>\n
Dengue, which has killed dozens of people this year, mostly
\nchildren in Jakarta, is transmitted by the aedes aegypti
\nmosquito, which can be identified by the black and white stripes
\non its legs.<\/p>\n
The symptoms of dengue include a fever of more than 38 degrees
\nCelsius that lasts between two and seven days, headache, severe
\njoint pain, nausea and skin rash. The incubation period for the
\ndisease is between eight and 10 days for adults, and six days for
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
Yohannes also said that the aedes aegypti mosquito, which
\ntransmits the dengue virus, bred in or near water that was
\nstagnant or slow moving.<\/p>\n
\"We should always cover all water containers and any objects
\nthat can trap rain water, including tires, pots and rubbish
\npiles. We should fill and drain areas of stagnant water except
\nfor swimming pools,\" he said during a seminar on dengue fever at
\nthe Bina Nusantara School in South Jakarta last week.<\/p>\n
The seminar was organized to provide the latest information on
\ndengue fever for parents of students at schools around Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The number of dengue fever patients continues to rise in the
\nlast several weeks with dozens of people having died from the
\ndisease.<\/p>\n
Many hospitals have been forced to treat their patients on
\nextra beds along their corridors.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Health Agency spokesman Evy Zelfino said on Saturday
\nthat over 17,000 people with dengue fever had been admitted into
\ncity hospitals since January, with 76 deaths, mostly children.<\/p>\n
The latest fatality was a five-year old dengue fever patient
\nwho lived with his parents in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. He
\ndied on Thursday evening at city-run Budi Asih hospital in East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Evy warned that dengue fever was not only attacking low-income
\npeople in slums but also people living in luxurious and clean
\nhousing complexes.<\/p>\n
\"We have also received reports from many hospitals treating
\npeople from high-income families. So, all people must work hand-
\nin-hand to fight the spread of dengue fever by actively cleaning
\ntheir neighborhood and draining tins containing still water,\" she
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Yohannes said that people should also change water in flower
\npots once a week and wash them thoroughly while trays should be
\nscrubbed weekly to get rid of any mosquito eggs.<\/p>\n
\"Cover all water containers and eliminate objects that can
\ntrap rainwater,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Yohannes asserted that by doing so, people could eliminate
\nplaces where the mosquito could breed while at the same time
\ndestroying mosquitoes and their larvae.<\/p>\n
He advised that to further reduce the risk of being bitten by
\nan adult mosquito, people could use mosquito repellent, mosquito
\nnets or mosquito coils.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dark-clothes-perfume-makes-people-more-prone-to-dengue-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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