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.