Govt warns public of dengue outbreak

JAKARTA: The Ministry of Health warned the public on Monday to improve sanitation in their neighborhoods in a bid to limit the spread of dengue fever with the onset of the rainy season.

Director general of disease control at the ministry I Nyoman Kandun said that 11 provinces would be prone to dengue fever this year particularly when the rainy season peaks in January.

The 11 provinces include Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau Islands, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, East Java, East Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.

He said that the ministry had prepared strategies to cope with a probable dengue fever outbreak.

According to the ministry's data, there were 50,196 dengue fever cases in the country between January and October this year, of which some 701 people died. -- detik