This year's dengue toll down<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Until May 15 this year, the city had recorded 22
\ndeaths from dengue fever out of 5,646 cases, an official
\ndisclosed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to welcome a team from
\nthe World Health Organization (WHO) at City Hall, head of the
\ncity health agency Ahmad Harjadi said the number of fatalities
\nthis year was proportionally much lower than over the same period
\nlast year, in which 23 people died out of 1,488 cases.<\/p>\n
It has also proven that the public's fear that the capital
\nwould be hit by an outbreak of dengue hemorrhagic fever of the
\nsame magnitude as 1998 was completely wrong, Ahmad said.<\/p>\n
\"We held a public campaign to increase residents' awareness,
\nand took preventative action like fumigating the 55 subdistricts
\nmost prone to dengue fever,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He said dengue cases reached a peak this year in March.<\/p>\n
\"The declining rate of rainfall played a significant role in
\nhelping to stop the disease from spreading,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The city administration allocated more than Rp 1 billion (US$
\n121,000) to prevent any outbreak. Most of it was used to buy 40
\nbarrels of insecticide at a cost of about Rp 768 million,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
In 1998's outbreak, official figures show a total of 133
\ndeaths due to dengue fever out of 15,000 cases.<\/p>\n
Last year, the number of deaths reached 45 people from 3,751
\ncases.<\/p>\n
This year, East Jakarta was worst hit, with 1,907 cases and
\nfive fatalities, followed by North Jakarta (1,228 cases, five
\nfatalities), South Jakarta (979 cases, six fatalities), West
\nJakarta (821 cases three fatalities) and Central Jakarta (711
\ncases, three fatalities).<\/p>\n
The WHO team, led by D.G Gubler, is in town to evaluate
\nIndonesia's dengue program.<\/p>\n
Ahmad said it was easy to prevent the spread of the disease.<\/p>\n
\"We must stop anopeheles aegypty mosquitoes from laying their
\neggs. The mosquitoes carry the virus that causes the fever,\" he
\nsaid, while reminding the public that mosquitoes like to lay eggs
\nin clean, still water.<\/p>\n
\"That's why it's important to close water containers and
\nperiodically clean or bury them,\" he added. (07\/nvn)<\/p>",
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