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.