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Indonesia`s dengue fever death toll hits 169
Jakarta, Feb 18: The death toll from a dengue fever outbreak nearly doubled to 169 in Indonesia from the previous day, a Health Department official said today.
Jakarta, Feb 18: The death toll from a dengue fever outbreak nearly doubled to 169 in Indonesia from the previous day, a Health Department official said today.
The number of people infected with dengue almost doubled as well with 8,195 infected in 11 of the country's 32 provinces, said Soemardi, a spokesman of Health Department, who like many Indonesians uses one name.
On Tuesday, only 91 people were reported dead and 4,500 hospitalised with the mosquito-borne disease.
Soemardi attributed the jump to new reports from newly stricken provinces.
Jakarta has the highest number of dengue infected people with 2,963 cases and 25 deaths. The highest death toll is in Central Java, where 39 have died and 1,918 others are infected, said Soemardi.
The number of deaths have been higher than past years, prompting authorities to warn that new strains of dengue might be involved. Health officials attributed the explosion of dengue fever to heavy rains in recent weeks, and the failure to rid the capital of stagnant water that serves as breeding areas for mosquitoes.
The World Health Organization said it may also be due to the cyclical nature of the virus. It estimates that nearly 100 million people worldwide were infected each year, with a death rate of about 5 per cent.
Symptoms of the disease include fever, body ache and, in the most serious cases, internal bleeding. Dengue fever is common in tropical areas, and is endemic to parts of Asia and the Caribbean. Bureau Report
On Tuesday, only 91 people were reported dead and 4,500 hospitalised with the mosquito-borne disease.
Soemardi attributed the jump to new reports from newly stricken provinces.
Jakarta has the highest number of dengue infected people with 2,963 cases and 25 deaths. The highest death toll is in Central Java, where 39 have died and 1,918 others are infected, said Soemardi.
The number of deaths have been higher than past years, prompting authorities to warn that new strains of dengue might be involved. Health officials attributed the explosion of dengue fever to heavy rains in recent weeks, and the failure to rid the capital of stagnant water that serves as breeding areas for mosquitoes.
The World Health Organization said it may also be due to the cyclical nature of the virus. It estimates that nearly 100 million people worldwide were infected each year, with a death rate of about 5 per cent.
Symptoms of the disease include fever, body ache and, in the most serious cases, internal bleeding. Dengue fever is common in tropical areas, and is endemic to parts of Asia and the Caribbean. Bureau Report