Dengue death toll increases to 117

Dengue death toll increases to 117

JAKARTA (JP): An outbreak of dengue in the country's 27
provinces has killed 117 people and hospitalized more than 5,000
over the past five months, a senior health official said
yesterday.

Director General of Communicable Disease Control and
Environmental Health Hadi M. Abednego said East Java recorded the
highest rate, with 2,484 hospitalized and 57 deaths. Jakarta came
second with 1,880 hospitalized and 28 deaths, followed by West
Java with 523 hospitalized and 11 deaths.

He acknowledged that the actual number of people affected and
the fatality rate could be higher, because some cases might have
gone unrecorded, especially in remote places.

Hadi warned the public against the disease, which usually
attacks during the transition period between seasons. "Dengue
can't be cured yet. It can only be prevented," Hadi said.

"Keep your environment clean. Get rid of stagnant water, which
is the usual breeding place for the Aedes aegypty mosquitoes that
cause the disease," he said.

Dengue usually hits densely-populated areas and affects
children who spend most of their time outdoors. The Ministry of
Health has been fighting the disease by, among other methods,
launching periodical fumigating.

Hadi said outbreaks of dengue usually occur in December or
January. "But in several provinces, such as Bandung, Jakarta,
Surabaya and Yogyakarta, they occur between June and July," Hadi
said.

Hadi also warned the public against other diseases which
usually break out during season's transition. Diarrhea, typhoid,
eye and skin diseases were examples.

Yesterday, Hadi also warned that the bites from other types of
mosquitoes, such as Anopheles, Culex, Mansonia and Aedes kochi,
could cause elephantiasis.

"When people are affected by elephantiasis, parts of their
body will swell, including their legs, breasts, even their
genitals," Hadi said.

Elephantiasis, caused by certain worms whose larva are
transferred to the human body through mosquito bites, can be
cured, he said. The swelling, however, would remain. (31)