JAKARTA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Concerns are rising over the increase in deaths due to dengue hemorrhagic fever in Indonesia amid the Eid al-Fitr celebration in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.
Indonesia's Ministry of Health reported on Monday that as of last week, 455 people have died from dengue. The cases reached 60,296, far higher than 162 deaths and 20,502 cases the country recorded during the same period of 2023.
Bandung and Subang, two regencies in West Java, the country's most populous province, recorded the most cases of dengue death, leading with 25 deaths and 18 deaths, respectively.
"One of the contributing factors is the weather conditions that trigger an increase in the life cycle of mosquitoes, including Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that cause dengue. Changes in weather have accelerated the cycle of the mosquitos laying eggs into growing to be mosquitoes that are ready to bite people," head of communication and public services of the ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said in a press release.
The ministry's Director General of Disease Prevention and Control Maxi Rein Rondonuwu predicted that the dengue cases would likely continue to rise at least until the transition season ends at the end of April.
Meanwhile, Director of the Center for Tropical Medicine at the Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta province, Riris Andono Ahmad, said the increase in dengue cases was most likely caused by the impact of El Nino.
"Epidemiological research has shown evidence that El Nino causes an increased risk of dengue transmission, because it increases the global temperature and considerable rainfall," Ahmad said.
According to the World Health Organization, dengue is one of the major public health threats in the world, including Indonesia as one of the hyper-endemic countries. A total of 764 people had died of dengue fever from the total of 98,071 cases throughout 2023 across Indonesia, data from the health ministry showed.
This year, the alarming number of dengue cases in the country occurs amid the celebration of Eid, which marks the end of Ramadan fasting month for Muslims.
Following the situation, regional governments across the country have prepared anticipative measures to prevent worsening dengue cases in the regions.
In East Kalimantan province, the health agency has deployed more fast-moving teams consisting of health workers to anticipate a spike in cases. Local media reported that the local government has also prepared health service facilities, such as treatment centers, intravenous fluids, medicines, and other logistics.
Local government of Surabaya city in East Java province, collaborated with its district-level Women Empowerment Team PKK, carried out routine inspections to every house to check for water pools and mosquito larvae. From January to April 4, there had been 47 dengue cases recorded in the city, with no death, but Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi convinced that the cases were "still under control."
Meanwhile, the Jakarta administration did fogging to a number of school and residential areas to kill mosquitoes and prevent the spread of dengue fever ahead of the Eid, in addition to other preventive measures such as monitoring larvae on a routine basis. ■