Residents told to join antidengue campaign
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Amid increasing numbers of people coming down with dengue fever, Governor Sutiyoso urged the public on Friday to pay greater attention to environmental cleanliness, saying this was the simplest way of fighting the outbreak.
"I believe that if all residents took part in the 30-minute cleanup campaign, we would be able to prevent the outbreak from becoming an emergency," he told reporters at City Hall.
He stressed that his administration had not declared an emergency thus far, but had assigned the city health agency to closely monitor all developments on the ground.
City health agency spokesperson Zelfino said that greater attention from the public to the cleaniness issue was critical, especially when it rained rarely and the weather was very hot.
"That's the perfect breeding time for the virus carrier, the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Such conditions also extend the lifespan of the mosquitoes," she told The Jakarta Post.
Mosquito larvae usually grow in still and clean water, for example, in open tanks, old tires and bathroom water containers.
The administration has launched what it calls the "30-minute cleanup campaign", to be carried out every Friday as part of the effort to rid the city of dengue. To date, however, the campaign has been ineffective, with few residents participating or even being aware of the drive.
Residents and city councillors have urged the administration to declare an emergency following a series of recent deaths among dengue fever victims. The latest fatality was Gunawan, 5, from Kalideres in West Jakarta, who died on Tuesday after receiving treatment at the Budi Asih Hospital in East Jakarta.
One of requirements for declaring an emergency is that hospitals admit between 15 and 20 new dengue fever patients per day.
Should an emergency be declared, the administration can disburse money from the city's Rp 800 billion contingency fund for additional preventative measures, including launching major fumigation drives across the capital and providing special medical treatment.
On Wednesday, the number of patients hospitalized with dengue in the city increased to 394 people from 333 the day before.
The total number of cases has reached 19,095 since January, with a total of 59 fatalities.
Last year, the city recorded its highest ever number of dengue fever cases, with about 82 people dying as a result.
The administration has allocated a total of Rp 100 billion this year for the health sector, including efforts to curb the disease from spreading further.