Jakarta to be hit by dengue outbreak
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakartans should prepare themselves for one of the worst outbreaks of dengue fever in years as the city -- one of the regions with a high risk of dengue -- will likely experience the peak of the disease's five-year cycle this year, a health official said.
"All elements of society should anticipate the possibility of the worst outbreak of this disease in years. Public participation is the key to minimizing the spread of the disease," the City Health Agency spokeswoman Evy Zelfiano told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
She estimated that the worst months could be March and April.
Previously, the health ministry issued a warning that dengue fever cases would jump significantly this year due to the five- year cycle of the outbreak.
Citing the city health agency's data collected from hospitals and health centers in the city, Evy said dengue fever peaked at 15,360 cases in 1998, which is far higher than other years.
The city only recorded 5,861 cases of dengue fever in 1995, 7,081 cases in 1996, 5,190 cases in 1997, 3,998 cases in 1999, 8,729 cases in 2,000, 8,820 cases in 2001 and 5,750 cases in 2002
More recent data shows that dengue cases also began increasing in January with 505 cases, compared to the previous months which only reached 227 in last December, 205 in November, 192 in October, and 207 in September.
"As of Feb. 27, we have recorded 443 cases of dengue fever, therefore we should not be lackadaisical about preparing for future pestilential outbreaks that may be loosed upon the masses," Evy added.
According to Evy, the city recently began monitoring the cases through hospitals and public health centers in each subdistrict.
She said the agency would follow up on every public report of dengue with an epidemiological investigation to confirm that the disease was genuine in that area.
"If we find that there are at least two persons who suffer from the fever (in one area) without clear reasons, we will work on the assumption that there is dengue proliferation there," she said, adding that as a follow up of the finding, the agency officers would examine larval matter from 20 houses in surrounding areas.
"If we find dengue-infected mosquito larvae from only one of the houses, the city health agency will send the officers to fumigate the whole area," said Evy.
The virus is transmitted into a human body by the aedes aegypty mosquitoes, which lay their eggs on the surface of relatively unpolluted, stagnant water. Because of this, areas that are prone to floods are more likely to report cases of the disease.
Evy stressed that public participation in cleaning their areas was very important in preventing the spread of the disease.
The health agency spokeswoman said that the most effective way to prevent the spread of the disease was to cut the metamorphosis cycle of the mosquitoes, the carrier of the dengue fever virus.
"We should not give an opportunity to the mosquitoes to multiply, and that means changing the water in bath containers every week and burying scattered cans and tires that could contain water for them to reproduce," said Evy, adding that water containers should have lids.
She also encouraged the public to use mosquito abatement powder, or abate, to kill the eggs of mosquitoes.
Evy said she did not know why dengue peaked every five years.