Dengue cases soar in nine provinces
Dengue cases soar in nine provinces
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Nine additional provinces have almost reached the status of
extraordinary occurrence in regards the dengue fever outbreak, as
the number of new cases has continued to rise, the Ministry of
Health says.
The ministry also announced on Friday that recent research had
found no new strains of the dengue virus, as was feared earlier.
The nine afflicted provinces are: West and South Sumatra,
Riau, Bengkulu, Lampung, East and Central Kalimantan, North
Sulawesi and Papua.
In Bengkulu, the number of cases has increased drastically to
61 this month from 14 in February, while the highest case
fatality rate (CFR) was recorded in North Sulawesi at 4.2
percent.
Provincial health officers in the affected areas are meeting
in Jakarta to coordinate their fight against the mosquito-borne
disease.
Director of Communicable Diseases Umar Fahmi Achmadi at the
health ministry said local governments should be proactive in
consulting and requesting the central government's assistance in
handling the outbreak.
On Feb. 16, extraordinary occurrence was declared in 12
provinces, including all provinces in Java, as the number of
dengue cases had doubled compared to the same period last year
and the CFR had passed one percent. The government has issued a
directive to all hospitals and public health centers to admit
dengue patients and is covering all related medical costs.
So far, Rp 500 billion (US$58 million) has been disbursed in
state emergency funds to handle the national outbreak, with a
specific focus on the 12 provinces declared "extraordinary".
In a related development, Umar said a recent laboratory sero-
survey of 283 blood samples from dengue patients in 10 Jakarta
hospitals showed negative signs of a new dengue strain.
He conceded, however, that the virus was changing from a DEN-1
to DEN-3 serotype.
Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever are caused by one of
four closely related, but antigenically distinct, viral serotypes
-- DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. The most virulent is DEN-3.
"About two-thirds of the samples were infected with DEN-3, and
the rest with DEN-1 and DEN-2," said Umar.
A patient who recovers from dengue fever develops life-long
immunity against the particular serotype that caused the
infection. A secondary infection by another serotype is usually
more severe, inducing shock and raising the risk of fatality.
Umar said 65 percent of samples indicated secondary
infections.
Similar surveys have been conducted in Palembang and Surabaya,
but the results are yet to be publicized.
Latest data shows that 39,938 people have contracted dengue
fever nationwide, 498 people have died and the CFR is 1.25
percent.
"At the national level, the dengue fever is subsiding, but we
must remain vigilant," he said.