Government wages war against dengue fever

Government wages war against dengue fever

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto expressed deep concern
yesterday over the dengue fever outbreak that has affected
thousands and killed at least 429 people across the country over
the past months.

Minister of Health Farid Anfasa Moeloek said the President had
requested that the 3M movement to eradicate the mosquito-borne
disease be stepped up.

"The President wants the 3M movement to promote environmental
cleanliness intensified," Moeloek said after meeting with
Soeharto at his private residence on Jl. Cendana, Central
Jakarta.

The 3Ms stand for 'Menguras', 'Menutup' and 'Mengubur', in
reference to three actions which can prevent the Aedes aegypti
mosquito, which carries the dengue virus, from breeding. They are
respectively draining open tanks, covering bathing water and
burying used cans and other canisters to prevent the accumulation
of rainwater.

He said all governors, mayors and regents would be asked to
publicize the 3M campaign and to cooperate with local and
religious leaders to improve awareness of the epidemic.

The minister stressed that the dengue fever epidemic was not a
national disaster, but an extraordinary incident that needed to
be handled in a coordinated fashion by the relevant departments.

Moeloek's remarks was echoed by ministers under the office of
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Haryono Suyono, who
launched a nationwide movement to battle dengue yesterday.

Haryono said the government was determined to combat the
dengue outbreak, which is expected to peak in May or June, with a
coordinated response.

He said that Minister of Home Affairs R. Hartono would lead
the cleanliness campaign in the provinces, Moeloek would
coordinate all hospital and health center and ensure that they
prioritize dengue patients, and Minister of Social Services Siti
Hardijanti Rukmana, who is also chairwoman of the Indonesian Red
Cross, would spearhead a drive for blood donations.

Moeloek said that according to monitoring carried out by his
ministry, 16,646 people across the country had been infected with
the disease between Jan. 1 and April 22 this year. Four hundred
and twenty nine of those infected had died, he added.

In 1997, 4,912 were struck down with the disease and 50 people
died.

Among provinces affected this year are South Sumatra; Jambi;
Lampung; North, Central, South and Southeast Sulawesi; West Nusa
Tenggara; and East Timor.

"The most severely affected areas are South Sumatra (over
2,000 cases) and Jakarta (5,680 cases and 54 deaths)," Moeloek
said.

He said that in West Java, the disease had affected 1,125 and
killed 41, while in Central Java it has affected 2,007 and killed
86.

In East Java, he said, the number of infected people had
reached 1,082, with 22 fatalities.

The minister warned there was no special drugs for treating
the disease. The efficacy of treatment depends upon the stage at
which the disease is diagnosed.

He said that patients in the first stage of the disease could
be treated with antipyretic drugs. However, if patients were
diagnosed in the second and third stages of the disease, which
are marked with high fever, they required hospital treatment.

He said all hospitals and public health centers had been asked
to devote more rooms to dengue patients.

Several hospitals in Yogyakarta have already provided
additional rooms for the increasing number of infected people.

The city's Muhammmadiyah Hospital provided additional beds to
accommodate 83 new patients. Sardjito Hospital, also in
Yogyakarta, is currently treating 85 patients with dengue fever.
The disease has so far killed 46 people in the province.

In Ujungpandang, the capital of South Sulawesi, 500 people
have been infected and 11 have died. The fatalities were mainly
among children who were late in receiving medical treatment.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, at least 111 people have been
infected over the last two months. Two have died.

In Lampung, the number of sufferers has reached 65. Most of
those infected are children under five years old. The death toll
in the province is two.

Antara news agency reported yesterday that residents of
Bandarlampung, the capital of Lampung, were concerned at the
absence of abate powder in the city's shops.

The powder is used to exterminate Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
(prb/rms/23)