Fumigation planned to fight dengue fever
Fumigation planned to fight dengue fever
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will fumigate in 100
subdistricts with endemic populations of the carrier mosquito of
dengue fever, a senior official said yesterday.
Health workers will visit the subdistricts this month and
April to spray the fumigant against the aedes aegepty mosquito.
Particular attention will be paid to gutters and swampy areas
where the animals live and breed.
"Our 25 years of observation shows that dengue fever incidence
is on the rise from May through July every year," chief of the
Jakarta provincial health office Aslan Lasman said.
Official data recorded 7,800 cases of dengue fever last year,
with East Jakarta accounting for the largest number with an
estimated 30 percent.
Aslan said the fumigation was free of charge. He also advised
city residents to take their own precautionary measures against
the spread of the disease, including by maintaining the
cleanliness of their surroundings.
He said residents should open doors and windows to their homes
when the fumigation was in progress to allow adequate
ventilation.
He also advised people to wear masks or tie handkerchiefs
around their faces during the spraying to prevent inhaling
excessive amounts of chemicals.
Dengue fever symptoms are often mistaken for those of typhoid
because they are similar.
"Sometimes the patients' relatives, even doctors, do not
realize dengue fever has been contracted until it is too late,"
Aslan said.
Among the subdistricts to be fumigated are Gunung Sahari
Utara, Kemayoran and Serdang in North Jakarta; Cengkareng, Rawa
Buaya and Slipi in West Jakarta; Tebet Barat, Melawai and
Kebayoran Lama in South Jakarta; Kebon Manggis, Kayu Putih and
Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta; and Cikini, Gondangdia and Tanah
Abang in Central Jakarta.
Statistics released by the city administration show that the
disease has been present in 90 percent of Jakarta's 265 districts
over the last 30 years.
To improve awareness among East Jakarta residents, the city
government has been training 400 health teachers and running an
information campaign on the disease in community neighborhoods
and in schools.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health
predict that there will be a significant increase in cases of
dengue fever in Indonesia.
Minister of Health Farid Anfasa Moeloek called on city
residents yesterday to be prepared for outbreaks of dengue fever
in the future.
"Observations show that a major outbreak occurs roughly every
five years. This year is the 25th anniversary of the first
outbreak of dengue fever in Jakarta in 1973," Moeloek said.
He added that dengue fever outbreaks can be prevented if
government officials, supported by residents, do not pause in
their campaign to eradicate the disease. (edt)