Posh folk not partial to mosquito spraying<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso complained on Friday that residents of upscale
\nresidential areas were not allowing officials to fumigate their
\nneighborhoods to combat the mosquito-borne dengue fever.<\/p>\n
As of Friday, more than 1,780 residents have been affected by
\ndengue fever this year, leading to 17 deaths.<\/p>\n
\"Given the alarming situation, anyone who refuses to join the
\nwar against this disease could be accused of committing an
\noffense,\" Sutiyoso said.<\/p>\n
He was referring to Law No. 4\/1984 on communicable diseases,
\nwhich stipulates that anyone who impedes efforts to eradicate a
\ndisease outbreak could face a maximum punishment of one year in
\nprison and\/or a Rp 1 million (US$107) fine.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso said steps to combat the dengue fever outbreak would
\nbe ineffective unless the entire city joined the campaign.<\/p>\n
City Health Agency spokeswoman Zelfino said residents of
\nMenteng, Central Jakarta, and Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, were
\namong those who had failed to cooperate with authorities in
\nfighting the outbreak.<\/p>\n
She said many residents were still unaware that clean and
\nstill water was the ideal breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti
\nmosquito that spreads the disease.<\/p>\n
Zelfino also confirmed that despite promises to the contrary,
\nsome poor dengue fever patients were still being forced to pay
\nfor their hospitalization. However, she said this was because
\nsome of the patients were not diagnosed with dengue fever until
\nthey had already paid their bills.<\/p>\n
\"Only later after we perform blood tests do we find they were
\ninfected with the dengue virus,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Doctors said some dengue fever patients did not display any of
\nthe typical symptoms of the disease, including a fever of more
\nthan 38 degrees Celsius, headaches, severe joint pain and nausea.<\/p>\n
The city experienced its most severe dengue fever outbreak
\never last year, with over 5,000 people infected and about 82
\ndeaths.<\/p>\n
The administration has allotted Rp 100 billion to curb the
\nspread of the disease through an information campaign and the
\nfumigation of areas most at risk of dengue.<\/p>\n
The health agency also warned of an increase in the number of
\ncases of diarrhea and leptospirosis, which is transmitted through
\nbacteria in rat urine.<\/p>\n
The agency confirmed at least 27 people had been treated for
\nleptospirosis since January. No fatalities have been reported.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso promised the administration would cover the medical
\ncosts of poor people suffering from diarrhea or leptospirosis
\nthrough a health scheme for poor families, although it was
\ncurrently focusing on free treatment for dengue patients.<\/p>",
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