Health agency confirms Chikungunya cases

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The West Jakarta Health Agency confirmed on Tuesday that the disease afflicting dozens of residents of Keagungan subdistrict, Taman Sari district, West Jakarta, was indeed Chikungunya.

The diagnosis was based on clinical examinations.

"We still need supporting evidence from laboratory tests. Epidemiological tests are being conducted and we expect the results in two weeks," health agency spokeswoman Evy Zelfino told The Jakarta Post.

The number of suspected Chikungunya disease in the area has reached 50 in the past month.

Keagungan health center head Meliana, however, said there were less than 10 Chikungunya cases in the area.

Like dengue fever, Chikungunya is characterized by an extremely high fever. It is caused by a self-limiting febrile virus that is transmitted through the bite of either the Aedes africanus or the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can also carry dengue fever virus.

People who suffer from Chikungunya usually experience muscular aches, followed by extremely high fever and a rash. As the disease progresses, they will experience paralyzing pain throughout the body.

Meti, 35, a resident of community 5, said she had a high fever since Thursday and last night she felt pain throughout her body.

"I couldn't move. So my husband took me to a doctor in Jembatan Lima, West Jakarta, who told me that I have Chikungunya. He gave me an injection and prescribed some medicine." Meti is now recovering from the disease.

Seven other residents in the area had also contracted the disease and are now recovering.

The health agency has made efforts to prevent the disease from spreading further by isolating and fumigating the area, providing information and free medical treatment, and sterilizing breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

On Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., four health workers from the West Jakarta Health Agency conducted a free medical examination at the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) center in community unit 5. More than 25 people immediately queued at the center for an examination.

"We're calling on the people to help eradicate mosquitoes' breeding grounds, as Chikungunya usually occurs at the beginning of the year," said Evy.

Residents suspect that flooding caused by spillage from a nearby construction site and the clearing of shrubs and trees had contributed to a rise in the number of mosquitoes in the area.