Dengue cases in Jakarta increase by over 200%
Dengue cases in Jakarta increase by over 200%
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
At least 16 people have died and 2,046 others have fallen sick
from dengue fever since the beginning of this year, according to
the Jakarta Health Agency, which warned that the number of dengue
fever cases was three times higher compared to the same period
last year.
Agency head Abdul Chalik Masulili said that last year only
four people died of dengue fever over the same period. He also
said that Jakarta had the highest number of cases of dengue fever
in Indonesia and the city was also experiencing an increasing
trend this fever.
"The number of dengue fever cases in the city has increased by
more than 200 percent," Masulili said on Saturday in a discussion
staged by the agency on the disease.
The agency reported that the 10 districts which had been most
heavily effected were: Kemayoran and Tanah Abang in Central
Jakarta, Tanjung Priok and Koja in North Jakarta, Kebon Jeruk and
Palmerah in West Jakarta, Kebayoran Lama and Pasar Minggu in
South Jakarta, and Ciracas and Kramat Jati in East Jakarta.
On Sunday, 63 patients were admitted to city-run Budi Asih
Hospital in Cawang, East Jakarta, and 23 others were taken to
city-run Tarakan Hospital in Central Jakarta.
To curb the spread of the disease, the agency will launch a
campaign on the prevention of dengue fever from Feb. 16 to March
16. The campaign will stress that the best way of combating the
disease, which is transmitted by the aedes aegypty mosquito, is
to ensure that pools of still water around the house are drained
or covered so that mosquitoes cannot lay eggs there.
The agency will also employ officers to check every house in
each community unit which has a high rate of dengue fever to make
sure the preventive measures work.
"There are 174 subdistricts which have a high rate of dengue
fever. Maybe two or three community units will be checked by our
officers. We will pay the officers around Rp 750,000 (US$89) per
month. The funds (for the salaries) will be channeled through the
subdistrict community health center and the officers can claim
their salaries there," Masulili said.
He added that areas which were prone to flooding usually had a
higher number of dengue fever cases.
The aedes aegypty mosquito, which spreads the virus that
causes dengue fever, can be identified by the black and white
stripes on its legs.
The symptoms of dengue fever include, a fever of more than 38
degrees Celsius that lasts between two and seven days, headache,
severe joint pain, nausea and a skin rash.
The incubation period for the disease is between eight and 10
days for adults, and four and six days for children.
Health agency data shows that cases of dengue fever in the
Greater Jakarta area hit a high of 15,360 in 1998. The agency
recorded 5,861 cases in 1995, 7,081 in 1996, 5190 in 1997, 3998
in 1999, 8,729 in 2000, 8,820 in 2001, 5,750 cases in 2002, and
14,071 in 2003.