Dengue outbreak kills dozens

Dengue outbreak kills dozens

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: An outbreak of dengue in several regions has killed 17 people and hospitalized 100 in the past three months.

A spokesman from the provincial office of the Ministry of Health told Antara on Thursday that the disease, caused by Aedes Aegepty mosquitos, spread in the municipality of Palembang and the regencies of Ogan Komering Ilir and Musi Banyuasin.

Dr. Azhari, however, said the number of fatalities has not yet reached a point where it can be considered a "disaster". Dengue outbreaks in previous years affected and killed more people, he said, without specifying any number.

The health office has successfully curbed the spread of the disease by deploying health workers to the stricken areas, he said.

An outbreak of dengue has also taken place in Bangkalan regency, East Java, killing two people. Of the 39 hospitalized for dengue in the Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya this month, most were children.

The number of both patients and fatalities, however, could be higher as there were unrecorded cases in remote places, Antara reported.

Hospital director Dr. Achmad Furqon said dengue hits the regency every year, and spreads mostly in the subdistricts of Geger, Klampis and Kamal.

Given the fact that Bangkalan is a transit area for traffic connecting the regencies of Sumenep and Sampang, respectively on the islands of Java and Madura, it's possible that the dengue outbreak was "imported", Furqon said. (swe)