Jakarta responds to dengue crisis
Jakarta responds to dengue crisis
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bekasi, West Java
The Jakarta Health Agency is applying the extraordinary epidemic
procedures imposed by the central government on Monday in an
attempt to stem the spread of dengue fever in the capital.
Jakarta Health Agency spokesperson Evy Zelfino said on
Thursday that at least 1,725 cases of dengue fever, including 16
deaths, had been confirmed in Jakarta since December.
Only around 1,200 cases of dengue spread by the aedes aegypti
mosquito were recorded in the same period last year.
Health agency head Addul Chalik Masulili initiated the red
alert standard procedures last Friday, by waiving hospital and
medical charges for third-class-ward dengue patients treated in
17 public and 58 private hospitals in Jakarta, including several
military hospitals.
Other emergency procedures already in place include the
simultaneous blanket fumigation of the 84 subdistricts in the
city in which the disease is endemic.
Last week, the health agency mobilized 1,500 trained personnel
to carry out the fumigation, even though the government had not
yet announced the extraordinary epidemic status, which is usually
imposed when the figures for the incidence of a given disease for
the current year double the number of cases from the preceding
year.
The agency is also continuing its standard awareness campaign
and sporadic fumigation in areas where cases have been reported.
Hospitals throughout the capital have imposed extra shifts,
bringing in additional staff, and providing more beds.
Dwipuryanti, a nurse working at Pasar Rebo hospital in East
Jakarta said on Thursday that since the declaration of the red
alert on Monday, the hospital had been adding one or two nursing
staff every day to manage the increasing number of dengue
patients.
"Sometimes we have to work two shifts a day. This really
drains our energy," Dwi said.
The day supervisor at Tarakan Hospital in West Jakarta,
Sulistiyani, said the hospital was currently treating 16 dengue
patients and had prepared additional beds and bags of saline
solution.
"Last year, when the extraordinary status was declared, the
hospital was provided with additional manpower from various
groups, such as interns from nursing academies, applicants whom
we took in as interns, doctors from Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital,
and trainee lab technicians. However, we haven't received any
additional help this year," said Sulistiyani.
Meanwhile, an official of the Bekasi Health Agency, H.K.
Jatmika, said that the hospitals and other health facilities in
the area east of Jakarta were providing free treatment for needy
patients and ensuring that all patients seeking treatment were
accommodated. To date, Bekasi hospitals have confirmed 125 cases,
of which five patients have died.
The city administration has allocated Rp 1.5 billion for the
current outbreak. "The budget is outside the Rp 100 billion
allocated for Gakin (welfare card for disadvantaged Jakartans).
Non-public city hospitals, such as the Pasar Rebo hospital, will
receive compensation for medical charges incurred in the third-
class-wards through the city development budget (APBD)," said
Evy.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had asked that effective
solutions be taken to reduce the increasing number of dengue
cases, during his visit to Budi Asih Hospital, East Jakarta on
Wednesday.