Daily siren to warn residents of dengue risk in November
Daily siren to warn residents of dengue risk in November
Damar Harsanto and Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Tangerang
As the wet season approaches, the Jakarta administration is
taking steps to prevent the proliferation of the mosquito-borne
dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), which caused the deaths of 83
people this year. The proliferation might start in November, the
beginning of the rainy season.
"A siren will sound once a week at 9 a.m. for half-an-hour, to
remind Jakartans to clean up their homes and surroundings, while,
at the same time, all TV stations will air the campaign message,"
City Health Agency head Abdul Chalik Masulili said on Friday.
Hotels, schools and offices will also be subjected to the
siren, he said.
"During that time, hotel managers, for instance, could tell
their workers to drain the bath tubs or dispose of used cans," he
added.
Masulili highlighted the importance of residents carrying out
the steps locally known as 3M: draining standing water, covering
water tanks and burying or disposing of used bottles or cans.
"We want to follow Cuba's lead, which has managed to virtually
obliterate dengue fever cases -- up to zero percent within three
years. At least, we can try to prevent another outbreak in the
city," he added.
Jakarta could face another dengue fever outbreak in October
and November, the transitional period from the dry season to the
rainy season, which provides an ideal environment for mosquitoes
to breed.
An outbreak of dengue fever hit the capital in February and
March this year. The number of fatalities was higher than last
year, when 59 people died of the acute disease.
As of August this year, more than 19,000 people, mostly
children, had been hospitalized with dengue fever in the city.
Health experts have criticized the administration for failing
to prevent this year's outbreak.
They said that preventive actions, such as clean-up campaigns,
needed to be carried out throughout the year.
Meanwhile, Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar told residents on
Friday to be aware of the risk of transmitting dengue fever
through mosquitoes.
Dengue fever had caused the deaths of 21 people in the regency
this year as of May -- where 22 percent of the victims were
between five and 14 years old, and 59 percent of them were
between 15 and 40 years old, Ismet added.
"I hope that residents will set aside their personal interests
and work hand-in-hand to clean up their neighborhoods, for all
our sakes," he said in his address to residents of Cirendeu
village in Ciputat.
Head of the Tangerang Health Agency Bachtiar Oesman said that
Ciputat, Pondok Aren, Pamulang and Cikupa districts were prone to
an outbreak, as those areas are densely populated.