Living with dengue<\/p>\n
Dengue hemorrhagic fever, that treacherous mosquito-borne
\ndisease that comes with little warning to torment the
\nunsuspecting, is with us again. Or so Jakarta's city health
\noffice warns us.<\/p>\n
It is easy enough to sneer at the warnings issued by health
\nofficials about the dengue scourge. After all, many warnings that
\nhave come from the bureaucracy have been either off the mark or
\ntoo late in coming to be of much help.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, though, the cold statistics reported in the
\nmedia in the past few weeks, courtesy of the Jakarta Public
\nHealth Office, do indeed give reason to keep up our guard,
\nkeeping in mind the truism that prevention is the best medicine.
\nThis is especially true, given the alarming scale of the dengue
\noutbreak that hit parts of Jakarta during the first half of last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
In the space of just four days last week, the number of dengue
\ncases rose dramatically from 197 to 263, which is an increase of
\n66 new cases within that short time. Not an overly alarming
\nincrease, one might say, considering that in February last year,
\nat the peak of the 2004 outbreak, 472 new cases emerged within
\njust three days, bringing the total to 2,518. But officials warn
\nthat the current outbreak is likely to reach its peak only next
\nmonth, or possibly later.<\/p>\n
February is the time of year when rainfall is at its highest
\nand dengue outbreaks usually reach their apex. Statistics for
\n2003 and 2004, however, clearly show that there is nothing
\npredictable about dengue outbreaks. Peaks can be reached well
\nbeyond the month of February, as late as March or April, or even
\nMay and June -- as happened in 2002, when 1,131 dengue cases
\noccurred in the month of May alone, and again in 2003, with 2,685
\ncases recorded in June and 1,070 more the following month.<\/p>\n
While the dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is ready to attack
\nanyone indiscriminately, dengue hemorrhagic fever primarily
\nafflicts the underprivileged living in poor and unkempt places
\nwhere all sorts of junk can be found for small pools and puddles
\nof clear water to form, providing a welcome breeding ground for
\nthe mosquito.<\/p>\n
Prevention of the disease, therefore, cannot be left to the
\npublic health office or the medical profession alone, but must
\ninvolve the community as a whole. With that purpose in mind, the
\nJakarta administration has issued a number of instructions for
\npublic health officials to follow in the case of dengue
\noutbreaks, hopefully with the support of all of Jakarta's
\ncitizenry.<\/p>\n
The obvious first step is for every citizen and resident to
\nprevent the Aedes aegypti mosquito from breeding by cleaning up
\ntheir own immediate environment. Easy as this step may seem, few
\nhouseholds appear to be ready to comply with the health office's
\ninstructions. Whether laziness or indifference is to blame, this
\nclearly demonstrates the need to educate the public in the
\nimportance of clean living.<\/p>\n
Overall, the work plan to fight the dengue outbreak this time
\nappears to be helpful enough, at least on paper. The strategy
\ncalls for doctors and public health centers (Puskesmas) to
\nimmediately report all cases of dengue in their area of
\njurisdiction, even suspected cases, to the city public health
\noffice, which will then instruct the Puskesmas to take wider
\naction.<\/p>\n
If convincing evidence of dengue is found, health officers are
\ninstructed to conduct further examinations to determine whether
\nor not the local case(s) pose a real risk in the neighborhood.
\nThe health agency will then decide what action to take to prevent
\nthe disease from spreading.<\/p>\n
With all the necessary arrangements now seemingly in place,
\nall that Jakarta's citizenry can hope for is that this time
\naround the lessons of the past will have been learned and that
\nthe plan will prove effective in attenuating the effects of the
\ncurrent dengue outbreak on the populace. With the rainy season
\ncurrently peaking and floods threatening whole neighborhoods all
\nacross the capital, Jakartans have no need for more catastrophes
\nto upset their lives and livelihoods.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/living-with-dengue-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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