'Chikungunya' infects more than 500 in Yogyakarta

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Chikungunya, a disease that spread through West Java towns recently, has infected hundreds of people across Yogyakarta province since last December, local health officials said on Wednesday. No deaths have been reported, however.

The head of the province's health office, Azimah Adib, said more than 400 cases of chikungunya, also locally known as dingkulen, have been recorded in Bantul regency.

The disease has also infected more than 250 people in the municipality of Yogyakarta since January, she added.

"So far we have received reports of chikungunya only from the two regions. No similar cases have been reported in the other three regencies of Kulonprogo, Sleman and Gunungkidul," Azimah told The Jakarta Post.

The head of Yogyakarta's health office, Choirul Anwar, confirmed the spread of chikungunya in his jurisdiction, particularly those adjacent to neighboring Bantul.

"Of the infected 150 victims, 55 are residents of Tegalgendu village (Kotagede subdistrict) and 64 live in Pakuncen village (Wirobrajan subdistrict)," he told a news conference.

The other sufferers live in several other villages in the two subdistricts, Choirul added.

He said chikungunya was not new to Yogyakarta. The first reported cases occurred in the ancient city in 1983, with more than 200 villagers from Kotagede and Wirobrajan affected.

"Many believe it is a common disease that reoccurs every 20 years," Choirul said.

The disease is not as mysterious as people think despite the fact that no cure has been found, he said.

Azimah concurred, saying chikungunya was identified as a nonlethal disease that was far less dangerous than dengue fever.

To manage the disease carried by the Aedes albopictus mosquito, she suggested patients take fever-reducing medicine, pain killers and vitamins to increase their stamina.

"The most effective way to deal with the problem is to cut the chain of life of the carrier, the mosquitoes," Choirul added.

He said efforts to fight the disease should be widespread and simultaneous, especially regarding the high mobility of the people as well as the mosquitoes' ability to fly within a radius of 200 meters.

"Partial efforts would be meaningless," Choirul said.

He said the symptoms of chikungunya included between four and five days of continuous fever and severe muscle and joint pain.

In severe cases, it could leave sufferers unable to walk.

Azimah said the local administration had taken anticipatory steps to prevent further spread of the disease by focusing on eradicating Aedes Albopictus mosquito.

"Chikungunya is basically a limited disease and a person could recover within seven days, or months if a person is not healthy to begin with," she said.

She said that the first reported case of chikungunya was in 1952 in Tanzania. The word chikungunya is derived from the Swahili language and loosely means something that causes stiffness.

In Indonesia, the first reported case of chikungunya was in 1973 in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. It spread to Kuala Tungkal in Jambi province in 1980 and to Yogyakarta, Martapura and Ternate in 1983.

In 2001, the disease afflict people in Muara Enim in South Sumatra, Aceh, and Bogor in West Java.

Last year, the disease spread to the West Java town of Bekasi and the Central Java towns of Purworejo and Klaten.

More than 70 cases were reported last week in Cirebon, West Java, after over 230 cases had been reported in Bandung since December.