More die, administration declares state of emergency

Two more people have died from dengue fever in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, raising the disease’s death toll over the past few weeks to seven, and prompting the municipal administration to declare a state of emergency.

The most recent person to have died was Kristian Putra Weni, 4, of Naikoten I subdistrict, Oebobo district, Kupang. Kristian died Thursday evening.

Kristian’s father, Nikolas Weni, said that his son was admitted to a local community health center (Puskesmas) and later to RSUD Kupang hospital. “After a few days of treatment, he died on Thursday evening. The doctor said he had dengue fever,” Nikolas said on Friday.

The identity of the other victim, who was reported to have died on Thursday, was unknown.

RSUD W.Z. Yohannes Kupang hospital’s public relations head, Jane Mbadu, confirmed that seven people had died from dengue fever in the epidemic that began early this year.

Jane also that the hospital currently was treating more than 300 patients with dengue fever.

“Most of them are kids and babies under five years of age,” Jane said.

Subdistricts of Kuanino, Oetete, Oesapa, Kelapa Lima, Pasir Panjang and Oebobo are considered prone to dengue fever due to their densely packed populations.

Previously, the head of the Municipal Health Agency, Ary Wijana, said that his office had taken several measures to stop the spread of the disease, including by distributing abate powder and providing supervision.

The present dengue endemic, according to Ary, is the latest chapter of a five-year cycle. Five years ago, in 2007, 511 people suffered from the disease. Nine of them died. Dengue is transmitted through mosquito bites. The first symptoms of the infection usually appear seven to 10 days after the bite.

The main symptoms include high fever, joint and muscle pains, headache and minor flu.

If untreated, reddish spots appear under the patient’s skin. In the third stage of the disease, the patient will experience a drop in their thrombosis levels, prompting the need for a blood transfusion. Once in this advanced state, the death rate is high.

Meanwhile, the director of Rumah Perempuan Kupang, Libby Sinlaloe, deplored the death of the two children.

“This indicates that the administration is not serious about taking care of the people’s basic health needs,” she said on Friday.