Rain makes city more prone to dengue<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The rainy season is here, and with the rain, comes the puddles
\nwhere Aedes aegypti mosquito breed new generations of virus-
\ncarrying mosquitoes.<\/p>\n
Already this year, some 55,600 people have contracted dengue
\nfever in the country, 745 of whom have died. Metropolitan Jakarta
\nrecorded the highest incidence at 16,840 cases between January
\nand October, and 74 deaths. While West Java recorded the highest
\ndeaths at 141.<\/p>\n
Statistically, however, the incidence of dengue fever in the
\ncountry this year is lower than that of last year, according to
\nthe Ministry of Health's Director of Human-Animal Transferable
\nDiseases Hariadi Wibisono.<\/p>\n
He said that this year the ministry had recorded 53,227 cases
\nbetween January and September, compared to 73,900 cases during
\nthe same period last year.<\/p>\n
This, however, is not a cause for celebration, because far
\nfrom the disease being curtailed, the lower incidence was caused
\nby a shift in the seasons, Hariadi said, explaining that the
\nhighest incidence of dengue fever had also shifted from March in
\n2004 to between May and September this year.<\/p>\n
The rainy season will bring with it more victims of dengue
\nfever, he warned.<\/p>\n
\"There will be more rain puddles which are an ideal breeding
\nground for mosquitoes, so people must be more careful about
\ndengue risks,\" Hariadi told The Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
He also warned that people should not be satisfied with the
\nchemical fogging program by the Jakarta Health Agency that is
\ncurrently underway, as the method only eliminates adult
\nmosquitoes.<\/p>\n
Dengue is spread through the bite of an infected female Aedes
\naegypti mosquito that had previously acquired the virus after
\nfeeding on the blood of an infected person. Besides being capable
\nof transmitting the virus to humans for the rest of her life, the
\nfemale mosquito can also transmit the virus to the next
\ngeneration of mosquitoes through her eggs.<\/p>\n
Chemical fogging only serves to kill the adult disease-bearing
\nmosquitoes and prevent them from transmitting the virus to other
\npeople, Hariadi explained, adding that fogging was only effective
\nduring the first two weeks, after which infected larvae would
\nhatch to become new sources of disease.<\/p>\n
As there is currently no effective vaccine against dengue,
\n\"eliminating wrigglers and destroying mosquito breeding sites are
\nstill the best measures to control dengue,\" he said, adding that
\nfor this to be successful community awareness was the key.<\/p>\n
Residents should regularly drain open receptacles, cover
\nbathing tanks, and bury used cans to prevent the mosquitoes from
\nbreeding in still water.<\/p>\n
Although the highest incidence of dengue fever occurs in the
\nheavily populated, poorer areas of the city, the well-to-do are
\nalso not exempt, as the case of former president Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri shows.<\/p>\n
\"Of course dengue fever does not choose its victims,\" Hariadi
\nsaid, highlighting the need for all levels of society to come
\ntogether and maintain the cleanliness of their environment.<\/p>\n
\"Because even if your house is clean, but the area 100 meters
\nfrom your house is not, you can still catch dengue fever,\" he
\nwarned.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rain-makes-city-more-prone-to-dengue-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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