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Dengue outbreak bites as COVID-19 cases rise
The number of dengue fever cases continue to rise in Indonesia, as health authorities battle to stem the spread of the highly contagious Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 that have triggered a fourth wave of infections in the country.
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Security guards ask people not to gather at the entry gate of the MRT Dukuh Atas station in Central Jakarta on July 4. Parts of Indonesia are experiencing a double crisis of dengue fever outbreak and amid a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections. (Antara/Chairul Rohman)
T
he number of dengue fever cases continues to rise in Indonesia, as health authorities battle to stem the spread of the highly contagious Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 that have triggered a fourth wave of infections in the country.
As of early July, the Health Ministry confirmed 61,046 cases of dengue fever nationwide this year, with 580 deaths.
The figure was roughly three times higher than the number of cases and deaths reported during the same period last year of 20,257 cases and 171 fatalities.
The seasonal outbreak has been reported in all 34 provinces across the archipelago with West Java, East Java and Central Java becoming the epicenter of the vector-borne disease.
The three provinces contributed to roughly 64 percent of the total dengue fever fatalities so far. As per July 8, West Java has reported 155 disease-related deaths, Central Java reported 133 deaths while East Java reported 84 deaths.
The dengue fever outbreak hit as the country was dealing with a fresh wave of COVID-19, bringing double threats to public health, especially to children. Around 47 percent of dengue fever fatalities this year were reported among children between the ages of 5 and 14.
Indonesia has recorded more than 5,000 new daily cases since Tuesday, with 5,653 new infections on Tuesday being the highest daily caseload since March 23, according to official data from the national COVID-19 task force.
