47 die of dengue fever in West Java

BANDUNG: The West Java administration has declared all its municipalities and regencies as under threat from dengue fever, after local authorities recorded more than 6,000 cases of the disease, 47 of them fatal, as of March this year.

Wahyu Saputra, head of the provincial health agency's disease control section, told The Jakarta Post on Friday that of the affected areas, Depok had recorded the most cases (637), followed by Sumedang, Garut, Subang and Purwakarta districts with more than 300 infections each.

But he added the figures were slightly down from those in the same period last year, when more than 6,800 cases were recorded, 65 of them fatal.

"To prevent the figures from rising, we are focusing on campaigning for a healthy environment. We're also providing information on symptoms of the mosquito-borne disease to prevent more fatalities," Wahyu said-JP