Experts Advise The Government To Seriously Take PE Over The Spread Of Gondongan-Cacar Cases

JAKARTA - The need for health authorities in Indonesia to analyze the causes of the outbreak of Gondongan disease and chickenpox that occurred simultaneously in depth.

This was accompanied by Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FK-UI) Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama advised the health authorities to conduct an Epidemiological Investigation (PE).

"What really needs to be watched out for is if it is true that there is an increase in two diseases at once in various regions in Indonesia," said Prof. Tjandra, quoted from ANTARA, Saturday, November 2.

Responding to the findings of cases of gondongan and chickenpox in children that occurred simultaneously at a school in South Tangerang, Tjandra assessed that the existence of PE could help the government know for sure what phenomenon was happening in the field.

This is considering that the two diseases come from different causes and the parts of the body that are attacked are also different.

The five things that need to be considered are that the two diseases both mainly attack children's age and have symptoms of fever that are very easily transmitted. However, both are relatively mild and can recover well in a matter of days.

"In fact, it is rare for diseases to develop to become severe and threaten health. Then there are vaccines for these two diseases, which are certainly available in various health care facilities in our country, even though they are not or have not been included in the national immunization development program," he said.

Another step that needs to be taken by the government is to analyze the truth of the increase in cases in various regions. This is because there may be a possibility that in Indonesia there is a change in the pattern of disease or due to increased sensitivity to surveillance.

Furthermore, if it is confirmed that there is a burden of disease problem, it is necessary to immediately inform the public, both to calm and maintain the vigilance of the community and children who are sick, they must receive optimal health treatment.

"The government needs to ensure the situation that occurs and immediately carry out its response," he said.

Prof. Tjandra said that parents must be vigilant if their children suffer from symptoms of the two diseases, and ensure that the child is immediately taken to the nearest health facility to get medical treatment.

Meanwhile, on the school side, he requested that vigilance continue to be increased. If several similar cases are found in the classroom, school managers need to immediately coordinate with the existing health centers or health workers.

"Hopefully the problems of the two existing diseases can be resolved properly soon, especially since this happened in the first 100 days of our new government today," said the former Director of Infectious Diseases of WHO Southeast Asia.

Previously, news circulated on social media about dozens of students at SMPN 8 South Tangerang who were exposed to chickenpox. This makes the school implement distance learning for two weeks to prevent further transmission.

As a follow-up to the findings of the case, the Ministry of Health said it would soon issue Circular (SE) of Beware of Waterpox Diseases (Varicella) and Gondongan (Mumps).