More dengue patients admitted to hospitals

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Heavy rain over the weekend was accompanied by more people succumbing to dengue fever with more than 120 patients currently hospitalized around Jakarta.

The Pasar Rebo Hospital in East Jakarta admitted 15 new patients on Monday afternoon, bringing the total number of dengue patients currently being treated in the city-owned hospital to 68.

"At eight o'clock this morning we had 59 dengue patients, but by this afternoon the number had risen to 68," hospital spokesman Deddy Suryadi told The Jakarta Post.

The hospital had 53 dengue patients on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the number of dengue patients in another city-owned hospital, the Budi Asih Hospital, also in East Jakarta, rose to 43 patients from 37 over the weekend, with a further 18 patients being treated in the Tarakan Hospital in Central Jakarta.

"Don't be surprised. There will be even more later on. We hospital workers are used to treating more (dengue) patients than this," Deddy said over the telephone.

With the rainy season arriving, the city's hospitals are bracing themselves for the annual onslaught of new dengue fever cases.

The Pasar Rebo Hospital, for example, has prepared 40 extra beds, of which 18 are currently in use, Deddy said.

He said that the hospital would not turn away new patients as long as they are willing to sleep on the extra beds. Otherwise, they would be referred to other hospitals around the city.

"Our economy-class wards are already full, while the first- class and second-class wards are full of patients suffering from other illnesses," Deddy said, explaining that based on a government decision, dengue patients in economy-class wards would be treated free of charge.

The hospital has also prepared extra rooms just in case the city administration declares the outbreak to be a dengue emergency, he said.

Jakarta Health Agency spokeswoman Zelfino said on Monday that it was still too early to declare a dengue emergency in Jakarta as the total number of cases was still lower than in previous months.

Over 650 patients had been treated for dengue in the first two weeks of this month, while around 1,900 and 1,400 were treated in August and September respectively.

From January to October, the number of dengue fever patients in Jakarta totaled 15,800 people with 74 fatalities. Last year, the health agency recorded 18,000 cases of dengue fever, with the highest number of cases being recorded in February and March.

Dengue fever is caused by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds profusely during the rainy season in pools of stagnant water.

The government had earlier urged residents to rid their homes and environments of mosquito-breeding places to stop the spread of the disease.

Residents should regularly drain open receptacles, cover bathing tanks, and bury used cans to prevent the mosquitoes from breeding. There is currently no vaccine against dengue.