Ministry Warns People to be Cautious of Dengue Fever During Eid Holiday

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) is urging the public to remain vigilant against the potential transmission of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) during the 2024 Eid al-Fitr homecoming.

HFMD disease has a high transmission rate. One of the diseases HFMD includes dengue fever. Although it rarely causes severe illness, HFMD can affect anyone.

"Human movement during the Eid homecoming has the potential to accelerate the spreading of HFMD, especially among infants and toddlers," said Kemenkes spokesperson M. Syahril on April 8, 2024, as stated on the kemkes.go.id website.

Throughout 2024 until the 13th week, there have been 6,500 cases of HFMD recorded, most of which occurred among children.

The spread of HFMD cases mostly occurred on the island of Java. The details of HFMD cases in Java are as follows: West Java with 2,119 cases, Banten with 1,171 cases, Yogyakarta Special Region with 561 cases, and Central Java with 464 cases.

"There is an increasing trend, coupled with the Eid homecoming and long holidays, which potentially leads to an increase in Singapore flu cases," said Syahril.

Syahril urges the public to always maintain health and hygiene during the Eid homecoming. People can wash their hands with soap and running water to maintain their personal hygiene and health.

Furthermore, the public is also asked to avoid direct contact with HFMD-infected individuals. Moreover, Syahril also urges travelers to maintain cleanliness in their hometowns to reduce the risk of dengue fever.

"At the same time, eradicate mosquito breeding grounds in hometowns, cultivate good habits to avoid dengue fever transmission," he said.

Here are the top five districts or cities with the highest dengue fever cases in 2024:

Tangerang with 2,540 cases,

Bandung City with 1,741 cases,

West Bandung Regency with 1,422 cases,

Lebak Regency with 1,326 cases, and

Depok City with 1,252 cases.

On the other hand, five districts or cities with the highest HFMD-related deaths, especially dengue fever cases in 2024, are:

Bandung Regency with 25 cases of dengue fever deaths,

Jepara Regency with 21 cases of dengue fever deaths,

Subang Regency with 18 cases of dengue fever deaths,

Kendal Regency with 16 cases of dengue fever deaths, and

Bogor Regency with 13 cases of dengue fever deaths.

RACHEL FARAHDIBA REGAR

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