Success in fighting dengue declared

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Sleman regent Ibnu Subiyanto claimed here on Monday that the regency had been successful in overcoming the dengue fever outbreak that had plagued Sleman since January.

Ibnu said the local government declared dengue fever an "extraordinary occurrence" on February 5 after seven fatalities from the disease was recorded in the first five weeks of the outbreak. The Sleman administration intensified its fight against the disease, including fumigating afflicted areas and providing educational campaigns for the public.

Unlike other affected areas, many of which suffered hundreds of dengue cases in a single regency, Sleman recorded only 77 cases eight weeks after the regency declared the outbreak "extraordinary". Of these, only two patients died.

"We consider our effort a success, as we were able to contain fatalities to a minimum," he said.

Ibnu said Sleman had spent Rp 2.1 billion to combat the disease, Rp 1.5 billion of which was drawn from the regency's emergency funds, Rp 390 million from its routine budget and the remaining Rp 210 million from the Yogyakarta provincial health budget.