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Govt warns of dengue rise from hotter weather as El Niño returns
With temperatures in the country expected to rise up to five times the average as El Niño returns, the Health Ministry is ramping up measures including larvae monitoring and mapping as well as public awareness campaigns to prevent an increase in dengue cases.
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A doctor checks an infant diagnosed with dengue fever on March 10, 2020 at T.C. Hillers General Regional Hospital in Maumere, Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara. (Antara/Kornelis Kaha)
W
ith average temperatures expected to rise with the return of the El Niño climate pattern to Indonesia, the Health Ministry has warned about a rising threat of dengue fever, as the hotter weather is expected to increase the incidence of mosquito bites by up to five times the average.
The mosquito-borne disease infects thousands and kills hundreds of people in the country each year.
Last year alone, the Health Ministry reported 143,000 cases of dengue fever, or around 52 cases for every 100,000 people, with West Java, Central Java, Bali and East Java being the largest contributors to the nationwide figure. The ministry also recorded 1,236 dengue deaths, mostly among children aged below 14 years.
As of May this year, at least 35,694 dengue cases and 270 deaths have been reported nationwide.
Imran Pambudi, the ministry’s director of communicable disease control and prevention, said dengue cases were expected to rise in the coming months due to the warmer weather during El Niño.
This could increase the risk of dengue transmission, as the frequency of mosquito bites tended to increase by three to five times when the temperature averaged above 30 degrees Celsius.
“This year, we need to be vigilant [about dengue] because we will enter El Niño season in mid-2023. As such, earlier this year, we issued a circular to remind all local administrations to be more vigilant about a [potential] spike in dengue cases," Imran told a press conference on Monday.
