Health agency confirms Chikungunya cases
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.