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)