Dengue fever afflicts Tangerang

Dengue fever afflicts Tangerang

TANGERANG: Since January this year, 20 residents of Tangerang
municipality have suffered from dengue fever and received medical
treatment at local hospitals, the municipal health agency chief
revealed on Tuesday.

Agency chief Nur Iman Machyudin called on residents to be more
careful and keep their immediate environment clean in order to
guard against the virus that causes the disease.

He said the actual number of residents who had been afflicted
totaled more than 20, since many victims had also been treated at
hospitals in Jakarta.

He said dengue fever would reach its peak season in May, and
that the number of victims would increase if residents neglected
their hygiene.

"We are now facing the transitional period from the rainy to
dry season, and mosquitoes that spread the virus could breed
rapidly if we don't keep those areas in our houses, where
mosquitoes usually congregate, clean," he said.

He added that the patients suffering the disease ranged from
10-year-olds to 45-year-olds. Pabuaran Tumpeng and Karawaci Baru
subdistricts suffered the greatest number of residents afflicted
by the disease. -- JP