Dengue outbreak toll 31 so far this year: Official

JAKARTA (JP): The death toll in the city's dengue fever outbreak has reached 31 this year as of last Friday, a Jakarta health official said yesterday.

Jakarta's health office spokeswoman, Maryani, said the virus, to which children are most susceptible, has hospitalized at least 2,930 people during that same period.

She said the number of infected people usually surges during March every year.

This year, she said, the number of those infected increased to 1,500 in March from just 424 in February, while the fatalities rose to 22 from six.

Maryani said people do not usually recognize the symptoms and go to the hospital when the virus is already at a serious stage.

She said most of the fatalities resulted from the delay in giving medical treatment in time.

"Patients die because they do not get the proper medication early on," she told The Jakarta Post.

Maryani said someone with dengue fever shows symptoms similar to the flu, characterized by a high fever. Even a doctor might think the patient has the flu and treat the patient accordingly.

Other symptoms include a runny nose, lower abdominal pain, nose bleeds and a skin rash.

She said to make sure they get the right treatment, people should not hesitate to consult their doctor again if they suspect the wrong diagnosis was made.

Dengue fever, for which a vaccine is yet to be discovered, has a window period of 10 days, she said.

The virus is transferred to the human body by the small black with white spots aedes aegepty mosquito, which lives and breeds in clean water found in tanks or buckets or rainwater which collects in the stem of banana bunches.

Maryani said the mosquitoes can also breed in puddles of water dripped from air-conditioner onto tile or cement floors.

"This mosquito bites people and transfers the virus only during daylight. Sufferers can be just about anyone, any age," she said.

She said people must take preventive measures by regularly scrubbing water tanks, buckets, pets drink bowls and vases.

The city administration plans to fumigate 100 Jakarta subdistricts in a bid to minimize incidents of dengue fever. (cst)