Dengue fever spreads among young professionals
Dengue fever spreads among young professionals
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of young professionals, including those
working at Jakarta skyscrapers, have suffered dengue fever due to
carelessness on the part of high-rise building managements in
preventing the spread of the disease, an official said on
Thursday.
As many as 6,811 people suffered dengue fever from January to
June this year, hundreds of them young executives who were
working at the skyscrapers, according to head of the infectious
disease prevention office of the City Health Agency, Tini
Suryanti.
"The dengue mosquitoes (aides aegepty) also occupy high-rise
buildings. They were found in flower pots, toilets and air
conditioning waste water. Worse still, the operators of the high-
rise buildings could not care less about it," Tini told reporters
on Thursday.
She said the agency was currently giving advice on dengue
fever prevention to operators of high-rise buildings in the city.
She added that the spread of dengue fever no longer mainly
affected children as had happened in the past, but now affected
adults.
According the agency's data, among the 6,811 people who
suffered dengue fever, 14 had died.
As many as 2,411 people who suffered dengue fever were from
East Jakarta, 2,016 people from West Jakarta, 1,414 people from
South Jakarta, 921 people from North Jakarta and 829 people from
Central Jakarta.
Meanwhile, the Health Agency's spokeswoman Yessy Hidayat said
the city administration had disbursed funds for dengue fever
prevention directly to the city's community heath centers
(Puskesmas).
"The funds are no longer held by the agency, to make them more
effective in helping people," Yessy said, without stating the
amount.
The city administration has been running a non-stop campaign
to raise people's awareness of dengue fever.
The administration has also intensified the use of powder to
kill the eggs of aides aegypty mosquitoes, which are usually laid
on the surface of stagnant water.
Residents have also been advised to spray or burn mosquito
repellent in the daytime, the most common time for these
mosquitoes to bite humans. (jun)