Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Dengue fever not yet an extraordinary occurrence
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The government has declined to declare the current dengue fever outbreak an "extraordinary occurrence", despite the fact that the number of victims is rising sharply in many regions.
"An extraordinary occurrence would only be announced if the total number of cases doubled from the previous month or the same period of last year," the director general of communicable diseases at the Health Ministry, I Nyoman Kandun, said Thursday.
Kandun was speaking at a media gathering at the ministry's office in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
He said that as of the end of January, the total number of cases of dengue fever stood at 8,019, not yet double from December's total of 5,000 cases. He said the January total was much lower than the 18,929 cases reported for the same period last year.
This January's dengue death toll was 144 people, also lower than last January's total of 192.
The latest outbreak of dengue fever claimed more victims across many provinces as the rainy season got underway. Of the 33 provinces in Indonesia, only six have reported a decreased number of cases, with 11 provinces reporting a much higher rate of infection of the virus spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The remaining 16 provinces have yet to report to the Health Ministry.
The data shows that dengue fever has killed one patient in Aceh, four in Lampung, five in Banten, and eight in Jakarta. West Java's toll has reached 47, Central Java 26, Yogyakarta three and East Java 21. West and South Kalimantan have two deaths each, East Kalimantan 19, North Sulawesi five, and Papua one death.
An expert on dengue fever, Sri Rezeki S. Hadinegoro, told the media that people should be cautious with the disease, carefully monitor any occurrence of fever and immediately have blood tests if a fever lasts more that three days.
"If the fever stays high by the third day, it could be fatal," she warned.
Patients should consult their doctors about what kind of blood tests they should take, and not only focus on blood platelets, she added, as a decreasing number of blood platelets is not the only indicator of a dengue infection.
"Their white and red blood cells counts should also be checked," she said.
Sri added that the most crucial treatment for dengue patients was rehydration to maintain the level of liquid in the blood, and oxygen levels.
"The dengue virus attacks the blood cells, leaking out liquid from them. If the blood doesn't contain enough liquid, this will affect circulation and be very dangerous because it is the blood that carries oxygen throughout the body," she said, adding that blood transfusions were not always needed for dengue patients.
"Only those with hemorrhaging problems need blood transfusions. And just like other viruses, dengue is categorized as a self-limiting disease, which means patients can get better with proper treatment," she said.
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The government has declined to declare the current dengue fever outbreak an "extraordinary occurrence", despite the fact that the number of victims is rising sharply in many regions.
"An extraordinary occurrence would only be announced if the total number of cases doubled from the previous month or the same period of last year," the director general of communicable diseases at the Health Ministry, I Nyoman Kandun, said Thursday.
Kandun was speaking at a media gathering at the ministry's office in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
He said that as of the end of January, the total number of cases of dengue fever stood at 8,019, not yet double from December's total of 5,000 cases. He said the January total was much lower than the 18,929 cases reported for the same period last year.
This January's dengue death toll was 144 people, also lower than last January's total of 192.
The latest outbreak of dengue fever claimed more victims across many provinces as the rainy season got underway. Of the 33 provinces in Indonesia, only six have reported a decreased number of cases, with 11 provinces reporting a much higher rate of infection of the virus spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The remaining 16 provinces have yet to report to the Health Ministry.
The data shows that dengue fever has killed one patient in Aceh, four in Lampung, five in Banten, and eight in Jakarta. West Java's toll has reached 47, Central Java 26, Yogyakarta three and East Java 21. West and South Kalimantan have two deaths each, East Kalimantan 19, North Sulawesi five, and Papua one death.
An expert on dengue fever, Sri Rezeki S. Hadinegoro, told the media that people should be cautious with the disease, carefully monitor any occurrence of fever and immediately have blood tests if a fever lasts more that three days.
"If the fever stays high by the third day, it could be fatal," she warned.
Patients should consult their doctors about what kind of blood tests they should take, and not only focus on blood platelets, she added, as a decreasing number of blood platelets is not the only indicator of a dengue infection.
"Their white and red blood cells counts should also be checked," she said.
Sri added that the most crucial treatment for dengue patients was rehydration to maintain the level of liquid in the blood, and oxygen levels.
"The dengue virus attacks the blood cells, leaking out liquid from them. If the blood doesn't contain enough liquid, this will affect circulation and be very dangerous because it is the blood that carries oxygen throughout the body," she said, adding that blood transfusions were not always needed for dengue patients.
"Only those with hemorrhaging problems need blood transfusions. And just like other viruses, dengue is categorized as a self-limiting disease, which means patients can get better with proper treatment," she said.