Dengue fever cases decline daily

Dengue fever cases decline daily

JAKARTA (JP): The city has observed a steady decline in dengue
cases this week, but it still suffered higher levels than last
year with more than 4,000 patients treated, an official said on
Thursday.

Head of the City Health Agency's animal-related disease
section, Tini Suryanti, said hospitals had reported a decrease in
the number of patients to only one or two per day, compared to 20
to 30 per day in the middle of last month.

"I think it (the decreased number of dengue patients) is
because people are now more careful to protect themselves from
eing infected."

"Also because we have conducted fogging activities in 55
subdistricts in the city," she said.

However, Tini said, the number of the dengue patients up to
Thursday was higher than that of last year. On Thursday, the city
had recorded 4,571 patients with 41 deaths compared to 3,751
dengue infections and 45 deaths for the same period last year.

The total number of confirmed cases on Thursday was sharply
higher compared to weeks ago. Early last month, the agency
recorded a total of only 1,526 cases.

Tini said the sudden increase in dengue patients this month
was possibly caused by late reports from hospitals. "That's why
the number quickly jumped to 4,000, compared to last month."

Standard procedures require hospitals to report dengue cases
on a daily basis.

Tini said the agency was still on alert because it expects
dengue infections to be a problem until May.

"We continue to conduct campaigns on dengue eradication," she
said, citing a citywide program that began in November last year
in cooperation with neighborhood associations in each of the
city's five mayoralties," she said.

The campaign includes educational films on symptoms of dengue
fever, treatment and prevention techniques.

Tini said this year's dengue outbreak occurred in the second
and third weeks of March, with about 20 to 30 dengue patients
hospitalized in a day.

The city was hit by a severe dengue outbreak in 1998 with over
15,000 cases and 133 fatalities.

Contacted separately, spokespersons of the city-owned Tugu
Hospital in North Jakarta and Pasar Rebo Hospital in East Jakarta
confirmed that the number of dengue patients had decreased.

Liana of Pasar Rebo Hospital's information section said there
were only three to five dengue patients treated in the hospital
in one day.

"Last month, we sometimes received 10 to 20 people per day,"
she said, adding that the total number of dengue patients was
only 29 people on Thursday.

The hospital was so overcrowded with dengue patients last
month that they were forced to be treated in the corridors.
Similar conditions were also observed at Tugu hospital.

Head of the hospital's medical record division Birowo said
that only one to two people were admitted each day this week.
(ind)