Around 700 people get dengue, two die since December

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At least two people have died and 692 others rushed to hospitals due to dengue fever since December 2004, a city health official says.

Spokeswoman of Jakarta Health Agency Evy Zelvino said on Tuesday that the number of people with dengue fever was likely to increase due to the rainy season, which is expected to peak in January and February.

"One person died last December and another in January. We believe that dengue fever will spread because of the rainy season. We have warned people in each subdistrict that dengue fever may spread to their areas," Evy told The Jakarta Post.

Evy said at least 263 people were treated for dengue fever in the first two weeks of January and 428 throughout December.

She said one of the two who died from dengue fever was Yunita Sari, 12, at Tarakan Hospital in Central Jakarta because her family was late to bring her to hospital.

Evy said most cases of dengue fever were taken to Budiasih Hospital in East Jakarta, Tarakan Hospital in Central Jakarta, Koja Hospital in North Jakarta, and Fatmawati and Pertamina hospitals in South Jakarta.

She explained that the number of dengue cases could increase in the last two weeks of January, as well as in February, because the rainy season wouldn't be over.

Evy said three subdistricts have been classified as red status, while around 70 others as yellow status.

Red status means three or more people have dengue fever and at least one person has died in the last three weeks in the area, while yellow status means one or two people have dengue fever.

Subdistricts in red status are, among others, Pondok Pinang and Kebayoran Lama in South Jakarta, and Kayu Manis in Central Jakarta.

Evy said the city administration had conducted several activities, including mapping all areas in the capital according to its level of cases, urging people to clean the neighborhood, and a fumigation campaign to prevent the disease from spreading.

"We have demanded that people drain their water tanks, cover tubs and bury used cans. If we do this consistently, we can stop the spread of the disease," she said.

Dengue fever is transmitted by the aedes aegypty mosquito, which is active during daylight hours and can be identified by black and white stripes on its legs. The mosquitoes breed in still, clean water.

The symptoms include a fever of more than 38 degrees Celsius that lasts between two and seven days, headaches, severe joint pain, nausea and skin rashes.

The incubation period for the disease is between eight and 10 days for adults, and six days for children. There is no vaccine or chemical prophylaxis available against dengue.

The City Health Agency recorded 18,000 cases of dengue last year, with about 82 deaths, mostly children. The highest number of cases occurred in February and March, in which over 5,000 people contracted the disease.

The agency's data also shows that cases of dengue fever in Greater Jakarta hit a high of 15,360 in 1998, 3998 in 1999, 8,729 in 2000, 8,820 in 2001, 5,750 in 2002, and 14,071 in 2003.