One dies as dengue cases keep rising in Jakarta<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A 13-year-old girl died of dengue fever on Saturday, four days
\nafter being admitted to Tarakan Hospital in Central Jakarta, as
\nthe number of dengue fever cases in the capital continued to
\nrise.<\/p>\n
Maesyaroh, who lived in Kebon Melati, Tanah Abang, Central
\nJakarta, died at 8:30 a.m. in the intensive care unit.<\/p>\n
\"Her condition continued to worsen Friday evening. After
\nseveral hours of intensive treatment, she died on Saturday
\nmorning. Besides dengue, the girl also had lung problems,\" said
\nHenry Manik, a hospital spokesman.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Health Agency spokesman Evy Zelfino said the number of
\ndengue cases in the capital was continuing to rise, and hospitals
\nwere beginning to run out of rooms for patients.<\/p>\n
She said that as of Saturday, over 17,000 patients had been
\ntreated for dengue this year at the city's hospitals, with 78
\nreported deaths.<\/p>\n
\"Despite efforts to curb the source of the disease, the number
\nof cases continues to rise because of the rainy season. We will
\ncontinue to monitor the situation and urge people to take
\npreventive measures,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
With more people seeking treatment for dengue, hospitals are
\nbeing forced to treat patients in beds set up in the corridors.<\/p>\n
Sixty-one patients were being treated at Budi Asih Hospital as
\nof Saturday, with at least 31 of these patients in beds set up in
\ncorridors.<\/p>\n
Persahabatan and Pasar Rebo hospitals, both in East Jakarta,
\nare also struggling to accommodate all of the dengue patients
\nseeking care. Dozens of patients at the two hospitals are being
\ntreated in the corridors.<\/p>\n
The number of dengue patients at Pasar Rebo Hospital shot up
\nto 81 on Sunday, from 70 on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The hospital said it was admitting more than 10 new dengue
\npatients every day.<\/p>\n
Despite the rise in cases, Evy said the administration had not
\ndeclared the situation an emergency.<\/p>\n
\"We have our own criteria for declaring an emergency
\nsituation,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The administration's official policy is to declare an
\nemergency if 15 to 20 new cases of a particular disease are
\nreported daily. Upon declaring an emergency, the administration
\nwill allocate funds and take special steps to halt the spread of
\nthe disease, including educating the public and distributing
\nmedicine.<\/p>\n
\"We have asked the people to drain their open tanks, cover
\nwater tanks and bury old cans. They need to spend 30 minutes each
\nFriday doing this. If they do this consistently we can stop the
\nspread of dengue,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Dengue fever is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which
\nbreeds in still, clean water.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Health Agency recorded 18,000 cases of dengue last
\nyear, with about 82 deaths, mostly children.<\/p>\n
The highest number of cases occurred in February and March,
\nwhen over 5,000 people were infected.<\/p>\n
According to data from the agency, the number of cases of
\ndengue fever in Greater Jakarta hit a high of 15,360 in 1998,
\n3,998 in 1999, 8,729 in 2000, 8,820 in 2001, 5,750 in 2002 and
\n14,071 in 2003.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/one-dies-as-dengue-cases-keep-rising-in-jakarta-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}