Dengue may be more serious this year<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A municipal health official has revealed that
\ndespite the successful war against the hemorrhagic fever, the
\nnumber of sufferers in Jakarta this year is expected to rise.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Jakarta Post, Dr. Soeharto
\nWirjowidagdo, head of the municipal health office, estimates the
\nnumber of people plagued by the fever in the city this year to
\nreach between 2,900 to 3,000.<\/p>\n
In the past five months 943 have already been infected and 14
\nhave died, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We are doing the best we can with our limited budget,\"
\nSoeharto said while acknowledging that this year's prediction is
\nhigher than the 1993 total of 2,263 victims.<\/p>\n
\"Last year we feared a recurrence of the five-year cycle which
\ntraditionally marks a large-scale dengue epidemic, thus we
\ndoubled our efforts to suppress it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the hemorrhagic fever has been one of the major
\nconcerns in maintaining community health in Jakarta over the past
\n10 years.<\/p>\n
\"Over 1,100 have died and 52,300 others have been infected
\nsince 1973, Soeharto said.<\/p>\n
Children between the ages of five and 14 are most susceptible
\nto the disease which is transmitted through the aedes aegypti
\nmosquito.<\/p>\n
The fever was first detected in Jakarta in 1968 and has a
\ntendency to reach a peak every five years with a mass increase of
\nsufferers, often doubling the number of the year before.<\/p>\n
In 1983, the fifth year in a cycle, the number of sufferers
\nreached 3,100 with 70 deaths, around twice the previous year's
\ntotal of 1,615 sufferers and 37 dead.<\/p>\n
The next five-year cycle in 1988 saw the number swell to
\n10,647 with 111 deaths. This number nearly tripled the 1987 total
\nof 3,845 sufferers.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of the next cycle, in 1993, the health office
\ntogether with municipal authorities took extensive measures to
\ncurb the spread of the disease. Their efforts were successful in
\nkeeping the number of victims to one-fifth of the 1988 totals.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said that despite last year's success the disease can
\nonly be averted if the community continues to raise its awareness
\nof what constitutes a sanitary environment.<\/p>\n
The aedes aegypti lays its eggs in exposed, clean bodies of
\nwater, he explained.<\/p>\n
The virus-carrying mosquito can be found near areas inhabited
\nby people where there is also exposed water. During mating
\nseason, the female mosquito needs protein from human blood to
\nhelp her lay eggs.<\/p>\n
East Jakarta<\/p>\n
It is thus not surprising that the highest incidence of
\nhemorrhagic fever is found in the densely populated mayoralties
\nof East and Central Jakarta, Soeharto said.<\/p>\n
He added that nearly 55 percent of cases reported this year
\nhave originated in those two mayoralties.<\/p>\n
\"Though North Jakarta is also densely populated the aedes
\naegypti will not go there because the water is dirty and salty,\"
\nSoeharto said.<\/p>\n
Out of the five mayoralties, North Jakarta seems to be the
\nsafest place from the fever with less than a hundred cases
\nreported over the past five months.<\/p>\n
Despite the various efforts of the health office, Soeharto
\npointed out that the problem is directly associated with
\neconomics and social welfare.<\/p>\n
\"Only when we have an environment and a welfare level like
\nSingapore can we truly hope to eliminate the disease,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Soeharto further said that conditions here attract the disease
\nsuch as the custom in most households to retain water in bathtubs
\nwhich serves as a potentially fertile place for mosquito
\nbreeding.<\/p>\n
He added that though the practice of spraying insecticides
\nhelps alleviate the danger, it is only a stopgap solution.<\/p>\n
\"It only kills the mosquitoes already alive, it doesn't kill
\nthe eggs in the water,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
For that reason Soeharto strongly appealed for all to actively
\nguard against any exposed water pool that might serve as a
\nnesting ground for the aedes aegypti.<\/p>\n
\"If there must be one outside the house make sure it is shut
\ntight,\" Soeharto advised. (mds)<\/p>",
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