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)