Dengue fever patients entitled to free treatment

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The West Java provincial administration announced on Wednesday that it would provide free treatment for dengue fever patients in third class wards of state-run hospitals or in community health centers.

Head of the environmental sanitation subdivision at the provincial administration's Health Office, Fatimah Resmiati, said the move was taken following a significant increase in the number of dengue fever cases in the last three months.

In the last three months, more than 3,100 cases of dengue fever have been reported, and 28 have died. In the same period last year, the province only recorded 733 cases claiming 19 lives.

"The increase in the number of cases is tending to be higher, more than four times compared to last year. We're afraid that there will be an escalating number of cases this year," Fatimah told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The administration, she said, had set aside Rp 5.8 billion (US$580,000) to pay for the free treatment, which it is hoped will immediately lower numbers of dengue fever patients.

The free treatment, she said, would be available at more than 90 state-run hospitals and community health centers in 25 regencies and municipalities.

"If there are state-run hospitals or community health centers still charging dengue fever patients, report them directly to us," she said.

Based on the health office's analysis, severe outbreaks of dengue fever take place about every five years. However, the explosion of dengue fever cases, which was assumed would take place last year, did not happen and the outbreak is taking place this year instead.

"We, and teams of doctors from the hospitals, are still discussing the possible causes, maybe due to poor sanitation or unpredictable weather," she said.

Last year, 19,012 people were recorded as suffering from dengue fever in the province, of whom 214 died.

This year, from January to October, 12,188 people have been reported as suffering from the fever, of whom 197 had died. The outbreak is predicted to reach its peak in December.

Fatimah said her office has proposed to West Java governor Danny Setiawan to declare the current dengue fever outbreak an "extraordinary situation", but so far had received no response.