Dengue cases keep on rising in Jakarta<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
While the city administration has not declared the current dengue
\noutbreak to be an emergency, the number of dengue cases has
\ncontinued to increase and have so far claimed 57 lives, mostly
\nchildren, since January.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Health Agency spokeswoman Evy Zelfino said on Monday
\nthat the number of dengue patients increased from 1,347 patients
\nin June to 1,366 patients in July.<\/p>\n
\"There have been 57 deaths because of dengue fever. The number
\nof patients in the first week of August reached 233, while the
\ntotal since January stands at 10,700,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
She said that her agency did not consider the situation to be
\nan emergency as the number of cases was still low.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue to monitor the situation. If there is a
\nsudden increase in cases, we will declare an emergency,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The city administration describes the situation as an
\nemergency if 15 to 20 new cases are admitted each day to a
\nhospital. Upon declaring an emergency, the administration
\nallocates special funds and makes special efforts, including
\ncampaigns and medication measures, to prevent the outbreak from
\nspreading.<\/p>\n
The number of patients admitted to the state-owned Pasar Rebo
\nHospital in East Jakarta has been over 15 for the last two days.<\/p>\n
The hospital's medical manager, Ellen Sianipar, said that if
\nthe trend continued the administration should declare an
\nemergency in the area.<\/p>\n
Evy said that her agency had to compare the admissions
\nsituation in a number of hospitals across Jakarta before
\ndeclaring an emergency in the city.<\/p>\n
\"If a number of hospitals in several areas have high numbers
\nof patients, then we will declare an emergency. Although we
\nhaven't declared an emergency yet, all dengue patients will
\nreceive free medication in 18 state hospitals throughout the
\ncity,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Evy explained that the number of dengue cases could increase
\nin the coming months as the rainy season started.<\/p>\n
She said that the city administration had taken various
\nmeasures to control the situation, including mapping the
\nincidence of the disease across the capital, urging people to
\nkeep their environments clean, and fumigation.<\/p>\n
\"We have told people to spend 30 minutes every Friday morning
\ndoing such things as draining open tanks, covering bathing tanks
\nand burying used cans. If we do this consistently, we can halt
\nthe spread of dengue,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads the virus that
\ncauses dengue fever, can be identified by black and white stripes
\non its legs.<\/p>\n
The symptoms of dengue fever include a high fever of more than
\n38 degrees Celsius for between two and seven days, headache,
\nsevere joint pain, nausea and skin rash.<\/p>\n
Dengue's incubation period is between eight and 10 days for
\nadults and six days for children.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Health Agency recorded 18,000 cases of dengue
\nfever last year, with 82 deaths, mostly involving children. The
\nhighest number of cases occurred in February and March, when over
\n5,000 people came down with the disease.<\/p>\n
The agency's data also showed that the number of cases of
\ndengue fever in Greater Jakarta hit a high of 15,360 in 1998.
\nMeanwhile, there were 3,998 cases in 1999, 8,729 in 2000, 8,820
\nin 2001, 5,750 in 2002, and 14,071 in 2003.<\/p>",
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