Rainy season arrives, beware of dengue fever

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[NEWSmedia] – As an Indonesian people, we already know dengue. The disease caused by the dengue virus and transmitted by mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus has long been an epidemic disease in several areas of Indonesia.

Cases of dengue fever in Indonesia

Dengue fever first became prevalent in Indonesia, particularly in the city of Surabaya in East Java in 1968. This case claimed the lives of millions of people. Until now, dengue cases were still one of the cases of serious illness.

According to data from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, the number of dengue cases or more commonly known as dengue fever (dengue fever) is unstable each year. Data from the Vector and Zoonotic Disease Prevention and Control Directorate of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia in 2014 indicated that the number of people affected reached 100,347 people and 907 between they were dead.

In 2015, no less than 129,650 people were affected by dengue fever and 1,071 died. While in 2016, 202,314 people with dengue fever and 1,593 people died. In 2017, there were 17,877 cases from January to May, with a mortality rate of 115 cases.

The incidence rate (IR) in 34 provinces in 2015 was 50.75 per 100,000 population and in 2016, 78.85 per 100,000 population. This figure is still higher than the national RI target of 49 per 100,000 population.

Causes of dengue epidemics

As mentioned earlier, dengue or dengue fever is actually a disease caused by the transmission of the dengue virus. This virus is usually transmitted by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The spread of this disease can actually occur at any time. But according to a specialist in tropical diseases at Graha Medika's maternal hospital, Dr. Syaiful Biran SpPD-KPTI, DHF is more prevalent in late summer and early in the rainy season. Indeed, the mosquito carrying the Aedes dengue virus likes to live and reproduce in calm and clean waters, such as pots or reservoirs filled with water.

When the weather is nice, the mosquitoes lay their eggs on the surface of a calm and clean water. Well, when it rains, the surface of the water will rise and form the eggs of the Aedes mosquito on the surface of the water trap. "Dengue outbreaks can occur because a mosquito carrying the dengue virus can bite more than one person," Syaiful said.

Syaiful also added that the dengue virus was actually divided into 4 types of serotypes, namely DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. Each type of dengue virus has a different "malignancy" scale. In Indonesia alone, according to Syaiful, the DEN-1 and DEN-2 viruses are the most common dengue viruses in dengue patients.

Symptoms of dengue fever

Regarding the symptoms that occur when a person is infected with the dengue virus, Syaiful explained that the resulting symptoms are almost the same as in a person infected with the virus, namely a high fever, dizziness , body pain or headache, nausea and vomiting, without appetite. .

But if further examination is performed in dengue patients, other signs will usually be found, such as enlarged liver, bleeding such as red spots and nosebleeds.

Since the resulting symptoms are almost similar to the symptoms of ordinary viral infections, such as vertigo and fever, it is not surprising that many people often view this condition as trivial. Even if the problem is not immediately resolved, dengue fever can be fatal and lead to death.

"If a high fever occurs for 2-3 days and does not cure with medication, you should immediately go to a health facility," Syaiful added. In addition, if blood test results indicate platelet counts less than 150,000, or even less than 100,000, patients should receive more intensive care immediately at the hospital.

Treatment of dengue

One of the best ways to cure dengue fever is to use fluid therapy. This therapy consists in introducing a lot of liquids, both by the liquid consumed by the patient and by the liquid resulting from the infusion into the body of the patient. This liquid is necessary to maintain the viscosity of the blood. Because, if the blood is too thick, the platelets in the patient's body will decrease.

In addition to fluid therapy, Syaiful also added that consumption of guava leaf extract or Psidium guajava can also be helpful in increasing the number of platelet patients with dengue fever. Some studies have also shown that the guava leaf extract had the effect of reducing the progression of the development of the dengue virus in the body. So, the virus should not grow more and more [viva]

Editor: Newsmedia