316 Dengue Fever Deaths in Early 2024, Highest Number in West Java

The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) reported 38,462 cases of dengue fever (DBD) across Indonesia by February 2024. The Ministry predicts an increase in cases this year.

“For 2024, we predict an increase in (DBD cases) due to changes in rainfall and the increasingly unpredictable El Niño phenomenon, based on reports from the BMKG (Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics),” said Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono in a working meeting with Commission XI of the DPR (House of Representatives) on Monday (25/5/2024).

Of these cases, 316 resulted in death. Dante stated that the DBD case fatality rate is 0.82%.

“(The) death toll is still quite high; we are continuously identifying the trends because dengue-related deaths are occurring in several locations,” he said.

By province, the highest number of dengue-related deaths occurred in West Java, with 94 deaths. This was followed by Central Java and East Java with 77 and 37 deaths respectively.

The five cities with the highest number of dengue-related deaths are Jepara (17 deaths), Bandung (14 deaths), Subang (13 deaths), Kendal (13 deaths), and Blora (9 deaths).

In response to the high number of dengue cases resulting in deaths, the government is implementing preventative measures through the dissemination of Wolbachia mosquito technology.

In addition, the Ministry of Health also provides dengue vaccines as a preventative measure. These vaccines are of two types: Dengvaxia and Qdenga.

“These are given to some children; it’s not yet a national program, but in several regions, vaccination has been initiated locally,” said Dante.