There may be a global scare because of the specter of the Zika virus lately, but dengue fever – which presents similar symptoms to Zika – is an all too real and present threat to Indonesian lives.
In the first month of 2016, one of the Indonesian cities hit hardest by the mosquito-borne disease has been Bekasi. The satellite city recorded a sharp increase in dengue fever cases in January, with 165 sufferers.
Sadly, 6 of those were toddlers who died from the disease.
According to Bekasi’s Health Agency, the figure is much too high, as it already equals a large portion of last year’s total recorded dengue fever cases in the city.
“The total last year was 1,006 cases,” said Reni Amalia, head of the agency’s Disease Control and Eradication Department, as quoted by Tempo yesterday.
She added that 11 people died from dengue fever in Bekasi during all of last year.
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