Beware of dengue fever, official warns

JAKARTA: The Central Jakarta municipality has warned residents of the dangers of contracting fatal dengue fever after learning that 25 patients are receiving treatment in a number of hospitals due to the illness.

Rum Istiarti, head of the municipality's health agency, said residents should take precautions, but admitted that the number of patients had yet to reach the crisis level of 10 cases per day.

"When the rain increases, the number of victims of dengue fever also tends to increase ... especially if residents don't act to prevent the accumulation of water around their homes," she said as quoted by beritajakarta.com on Tuesday.

The virus that causes dengue fever is contracted by humans via aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which breed in still water.

Besides dengue fever, the municipality is also worried about post-flood illnesses such as respiratory problems, skin diseases and diarrhea. -- JP