Dengue fever patients entitled to free treatment

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.