'Dengue campaign only lip service'

Although the current number of casualties of dengue hemorrhagic fever is lower than last year's, the government has announced an extraordinary occurrence of dengue fever in 12 provinces affected by the dengue outbreak, including Jakarta. The Jakarta Post asked residents for their opinion on the measures taken by the government to prevent the spread of the mosquito borne disease.

Idham, 37, owns a language and administrative studies center in Pejaten, South Jakarta. He lives with his wife and three children in Pancoran, also in South Jakarta:

I've heard that the government has declared Jakarta one of the areas with an extraordinary occurrence of dengue. But do you see any activities or even an emergency atmosphere in the capital showing that we are in a critical situation? I don't.

It is just business as usual. Although I've been told that two residents outside our housing complex have been treated in hospital for dengue fever, no one, not even officials from the subdistrict administration or from the health agency have come to assist us in preventing an outbreak.

I think the Jakarta administration talks up its efforts to the media, so that the public thinks everything is under control. Moreover, the President has called for the issue to be tackled more seriously in order to prevent more infections.

The media has reported what the government is doing or its plans, but the government never communicates directly with the people.

Liesna, 28, works at a beauty parlor in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta. She lives with her parents in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta:

We shouldn't depend on the government to clean up our neighborhoods. We should take the initiative ourselves and not wait for officials to tell us what to do.

Maybe I don't know much about dengue, but I do know that it is transmitted by a mosquito that breeds in clear water, such as our bath tank.

So, all we have to do is to clean or change the standing water around our house. That does not sound like such a big deal, and it's something that everyone can do.

However, without concerted efforts from all of us, our individual efforts are rendered useless. A mosquito from next door, for example, could infect someone from my family, even though we have cleaned up our house. I hope other people pay attention to this.

--The Jakarta Post