TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In 2022, West Java recorded 36,608 people cases of dengue fever with 305 casualties. The highest number of cases was in January and then gradually decreased until December.

"The number of cases fluctuated with a tendency to decline," said Ryan Bayusantika Ristandi, head of disease prevention and control at the West Java Health Office on Monday, February 6, 2023

Ryan said that the most number of cases were recorded in January 2022 with 5,940 patients, 63 of whom died.

Djatnika Setiabudi, a general practitioner at Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung, said that all four serotypes of dengue virus—from DEN 1 to DEN 4—exist in Indonesia. However, the type of dengue virus is not always the same in various regions. "In Bandung and Surabaya, for example, the dominant serotypes are different," he said on Monday.

In addition, the dominance of the dengue virus in each area can also be different depending on the timing, for example, presently and one or two years ago.

"The serotype depends on the virus, not the mosquito," Djatnika said.

Dengue fever is transmitted to humans through the bites of the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitos. Dengue can spread to anyone regardless of age. However, Djatnika said that cases are most common in children under the age of 15, namely between 6 and 12 years old. In some cases, the disease is found in infants. "Usually if [the patient] is under the age of 1 year, the condition is severe," Djatnika said.

ANWAR SISWADI

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