Chikungunya spreads in five regencies in Central Java

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang

The widespread perception that Chikungunya disease, similar to dengue but not fatal, hits sporadically certain regions in the country is apparently untrue.

An official said on Friday that the disease spread in five regencies in Central Java alone last year.

Budihardjo, deputy head of the Central Java provincial health office, revealed that 368 people were infected with the disease in Klaten regency, 246 in Sragen, 108 in Tegal, 92 in Boyolali and six in Purbalingga.

Central Java comprises 35 regencies/municipalities.

"Similar cases were also reported in other parts of Central Java province, but the number was small," said Budihardjo.

He added that, early this year, the health office also received reports that the disease had started again to spread to some areas in the province.

He did not spell out the number of people infected with the disease this year, saying that his office was following up the reports.

He explained that the disease was not fatal, but it was painful and lasted for five to 10 days.

"People infected with the disease have to take rest and consume highly nutritious food in order that they quickly recover," he said.

Chikungunya is contracted through a mosquito bite and is characterized by an extremely high fever, but differs from dengue in its symptoms of severe joint pain (arthralgia), which lasts up to a week. The disease is spread by the Aedes albopictus mosquito, which carries the Chikungunya virus.

The first reported case of Chikungunya was in 1952 in Tanzania. In Indonesia, the first reported case was in 1973 in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. It spread to Kuala Tungkal, Jambi province, in 1980 and to Yogyakarta, Martapura and Ternate in 1983. Various cases have been reported recently in Cirebon and Bandung, West Java province, and the latest report was last week in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta.

On the same occasion, Budihardjo revealed that, besides Chikungunya, dengue was also a cause for concern for the Central Java health office.

Dengue infected 8,515 residents in Central Java last year and spread to 560 subdistricts in 29 regencies/municipalities in the province. "Some 2.18 percent of the total infected residents died last year due to dengue," said Budihardjo.

The number of people contracting dengue last year was much greater than those with the disease in 2002, who numbered 6,483.

In order to prevent the disease spreading again in the province this year, the office will intensify fumigation in some places suspected of being breeding grounds for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the carrier of the dengue virus.