The Surge In Dengue Fever Cases In Maumere NTT The Majority Occurred In Schools, Teachers Asked To Maintain Environmental Hygiene

The treatment atmosphere in the children's ward of Dr. TC Hillers Maumere Hospital, Sikka, NTT/ANTARA

SIKKA - Head of the Sikka District Health Office, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Petrus Herlemus said, cases of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) in the region during January and February 2023 were dominated by children aged 5-15 years. "From our data, the age of the children is quite large, at the age of 5-15 there are 172 cases. Dominant in school children," said Petrus in Maumere, quoted from Antara, Friday, March 3. Based on data from the Sikka District Health Office as of March 1, 2023, there were 91 cases of dengue fever at the age of 1-4 years, 5-15 years as many as 172 cases, 43 people over 15 years of age, and under one year 20 cases. From the existing graphs, he said, a spike in cases occurred in schools, so that his party had disseminated more massive information on the prevention and handling of dengue fever to schools. "I instruct the Public Health Center to provide education to schools so that students and teachers can be monitored, then the school environment can be cleaned regularly," he said. The Sikka Regency Government (Pemkab) has coordinated across sectors for monitoring and supervision, especially in several health centers with a fairly high number of dengue fever cases, such as the Kopeta, Beru, Waigete, Nanga, Nita, and Watubaing Health Centers. From the existing data, the number of dengue cases in the first two months of 2023 was 326 cases, much higher than the accumulated cases in 2022 of 466 cases. Petrus said the increase in cases was one of the signs towards the Extraordinary Event (KLB) of dengue fever in Sikka which needed to be anticipated by moving quickly to eradicate mosquito nests with cross-sectoral support. He also instructed all puskesmas to carry out governance in handling dengue fever if patients come with complaints of fever. Officers must supervise from house to house if there are children or adults with fever complaints. "The fever must be immediately taken to the puskesmas, later the diagnosis will be enforced that the laboratory is not a dengue problem. But complaints of fever fever fever must be suspected," he said.