New teeth grown from urine – study

BBC News, James Gallagher, Health and science reporter, 29 July 2013

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Could stem cells be a source
of new teeth?

Scientists have grown rudimentary teeth out of the most unlikely of sources, human urine.

The results, published in Cell Regeneration Journal, showed that urine could be used as a source of stem cells that in turn could be grown into tiny tooth-like structures.

The team from China hopes the technique could be developed into a way of replacing lost teeth.

Other stem cell researchers caution that that goal faces many challenges.

Teams of researchers around the world are looking for ways of growing new teeth to replace those lost with age and poor dental hygiene.

Stem cells - the master cells which can grow into any type of tissue - are a popular area of research.

The group at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health used urine as the starting point.

Cells which are normally passed from the body, such as those from the lining of the body's waterworks, are harvested in the laboratory. These collected cells are then coaxed into becoming stem cells.

A mix of these cells and other material from a mouse was implanted into the animals.

The researchers said that after three weeks the bundle of cells started to resemble a tooth: "The tooth-like structure contained dental pulp, dentin, enamel space and enamel organ."

However, the "teeth" were not as hard as natural teeth.

This piece of research is not immediately going to lead to new options for the dentist, but the researchers say it could lead to further studies towards "the final dream of total regeneration of human teeth for clinical therapy".

'Worst source'

Prof Chris Mason, a stem cell scientist at University College London, said urine was a poor starting point.

"It is probably one of the worst sources, there are very few cells in the first place and the efficiency of turning them into stem cells is very low.

"You just wouldn't do it in this way."

He also warned that the risk of contamination, such as through bacteria, was much higher than with other sources of cells.

Prof Mason added: "The big challenge here is the teeth have got a pulp with nerve and blood vessels which have to make sure they integrate to get permanent teeth."

ASEAN members sign agreement to boost dengue prevention

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 06/15/2011

Ten ASEAN members have agreed to a new action plan aimed at controlling the spread of Dengue Fever in the region.

The agreement was signed during an event held in connection with ASEAN Dengue Day, at the National Monument in Jakarta on Wednesday.

During the event, Indonesian Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih announced the Jakarta Call for Action on the Control and Prevention of Dengue, which was proposed to follow on from the ASEAN Strategic Framework on Health Development.

"It is estimated that worldwide 50 to 100 million people are infected with [dengue fever each year], and 20,000 of these cases result in death," she said.

Up to 75 percent of these incidents occurred in the Asia-Pacific region, showing that the region should take the lead in dengue fever control and prevention efforts, Endang said.

ASEAN members have already recognized dengue as a major communicable disease that poses a serious threat to health, she said.

"ASEAN leaders endorsed this in the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint.”

The agreement calls upon stakeholders in the region to strengthen regional cooperation on dengue prevention, to combat the disease in sustainable ways, and promote inter-sectoral collaboration.

Conducting research on dengue vaccines was among projects proposed to improve dengue prevention in the region, she said.

A dengue vaccine is widely seen as the best way to prevent the disease from spreading.

France-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur is currently running clinical trials of a dengue vaccine in several countries, including Indonesia.

The research, however, has been slow since the disease has four different viral strains. (lfr)

Dengue Fever Still a Major Killer in Indonesia, but Vaccine Research Brings Rays of Hope

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, June 14, 2011

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More than four decades after Indonesia first declared war on dengue fever, the government on Monday conceded it was still struggling to win the battle against the deadly disease.

“The challenge is enormous, it is extremely difficult to keep the disease under control,” Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said after opening the first Asean Dengue Day conference in Jakarta.

Dengue fever was first detected in 1968 in Surabaya and Jakarta. More than 50 cases were found at the time and more than half of the victims died. More than 40 years later, Endang said, Indonesia had the largest dengue fever problem of any country in Southeast Asia.

The Ministry of Health reported that last year more than 150,000 people across Indonesia were infected, and more than 1,400 people, mostly children, died of the disease. By comparison, in Thailand last year there were 57,000 infections and 70 fatalities.

According to the World Health Organization, Indonesia accounted for 57 percent of all dengue cases in the region in 2006, including almost 70 percent of deaths from the disease.

Endang said that given Indonesia’s vast land area and high population, it was nearly impossible to eradicate the breeding places for the disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said that dengue fever was a serious problem not only for Indonesia but also for other Asean countries.

“Every year 51 million people are infected and 20,000 people, especially children, die unnecessarily,” he said.

Endang said dengue fever vaccine could be the best approach to curb the number of infections and fatalities in Indonesia. While no vaccine is available yet, a clinical trial is under way in five Asian countries, including Indonesia. Some 2,000 children in Jakarta, Bandung, and Bali are participating in the clinical trial.

It will run over the next five years.

Endang said there was no guarantee yet about the efficacy of the vaccine but so far it has been proven safe. The University of Indonesia, Airlangga University in Surabaya, and the Ministry’s research and development agency are researching the vaccine.

“They are all still in the early stage, but I dream one day we will be able to produce our own vaccine and protect our children from dengue fever,” she said.

Bali braces for dengue epidemic

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali | Tue, 03/30/2010 8:34 PM

The Bali Health Agency is anticipating a sharp increase in dengue fever cases over the next two months.

Agency head Nyoman Sutedja said Tuesday the number of dengue cases on the holiday island was fluctuating, but warned of an explosion of cases in coming months.

“We predict the dengue epidemic will reach its peak between April and May because of changing weather. Therefore, we call on residents to remain alert by maintaining their health and the environment,” Sutedja said.

According to agency data, Bali saw approximately 1,600 cases of dengue in the first three months of this year.

On Tuesday, 148 patients with dengue were being treated at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar.

Latin America struggles with dengue epidemic

Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 24 March 2010 - 5:35pm

The Pan-American Health Organisation PAHO says Latin America is struggling with a severe outbreak of the deadly dengue fever. 146,000 cases have already been registered this year, and 79 people have died. Last year this time only 79,000 patients had been reported with the illness, which is spread by mosquitoes.

The PAHO says the countries the hardest hit are Brazil, Columbia and Venezuela. There is no medicine against dengue, also known as breakbone fever, although experts hope to have developed one in about five years.

Global warming is responsible for spreading the disease to countries which were formerly unaffected. In some Central American and Caribbean countries, dengue has reached epidemic proportions.

News focus: many RI regions on dengue alert, death toll reaches tens

Antara News, by Andi Abdussalam, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 16:12 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Health authorities in many parts of Indonesia have alerted their respective communities to the threat of dengue fever in the current monsoon season (January-March) with the disease having already killed tens of people and infected hundreds of others, mostly in East and West Nusa Tenggara provinces.

According to ANTARA reports, at least eight people had succumbed to the disease in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and over 570 sufferers had to be hospitalized in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) while in West Java`s Taskimalaya, local health officials have declared dengue outbreaks a pandemic.

Dengue fever cases have also been reported happening in other provinces such as East Java, North Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

The most affected province is West Nusa Tenggara. Since January, a total of 571 people had contracted the disease. Luckily however, no death has been registered in the province.

"The 571 patients are recorded in 10 districts," said Dr Ida Bagus Jelantik, head of West Nusa Tenggara Disease and Environmental Control Office said.

NTB`s provincial capital of Mataram saw the biggest number of patients reaching 368, followed by West Lombok 52, East Lombok 46 and West Sumbawa 31 cases. Other cases were found in Central Lombok, Bima City, Sumbawa, Dompu, North Lombok and Bima.

In East Nusa Tenggara province, dengue fever has killed at least eight patients. The number of people who died of dengue fever, rose from five in January to eight.

The latest two deaths this weekend were Maria Tiara (9 months old), and another infant at Kobatoma village, Titehena sub district, East Flores District, NTT, Dr Stefanus Bria Seran, head of the NTT provincial health service, said. The seven fatalities were all children, he said.

Dengue fever has affected eight districts in NTT, including East Flores, Sikka, Kupang, Belu, Ende, Alor, and Nagekeo districts. In Sikka, there have been 251 cases of dengue fever, Kupang 279 cases, Belu 32 cases, Ende six cases, Alor eight cases, and Nagekeo six cases with two children had died.

The East Nusa Tenggara authorities have declared the dengue fever outbreak in Kupang city and Sikka District as extraordinary happening.

In East Java, dengue fever has claimed the lives of at least 9 patients in Mojokero, Madiun and Kediri.

In Mojokerto district alone, dengue fever killed four resident. The dengue virus has also infected 125 other residents, Head of Mojokerto`s Disease Prevention and Surveillance, dr.Benhardy, said. "The only sub-districts which have remained free from the dengue fever attacks are Pacet and Trawas," he said.

The number of cases tended to keep increasing during the rainy season. Last week, victims were recorded at 110 patients but this week the number had increased to 125, he said.

"Learning from last year`s experience, despite the end of rainy season (in April), the dengue fever will remain possible until May or June," he said.

In Kediri, the dengue fever had also killed at least two people last week. The victims were identified as Lorde Bintang S. and Anggoro. While in another East Java`s town Madiun , dengue spread had also killed three people.

"Over the past two months, dengue has infected 66 residents, three of them had died," Head of Madiun`s Disease Prevention and Surveillance office, Sulistyo Widyantono, said.

Dengue fever last year killed only two victims in the January-February period. But last year, the number of dengue patient in the same period in this city reached 193.

In the meantime, the West Java district of Tasikmalaya`s health authorities have declared dengue fever cases a pandemic in three subdistricts during the ongoing rainy season.

The dengue fever-affected subdistricts were Tawang, Cihideung and Cipedes, Head of Tasikmalaya`s disease surveillance and environmental health, Hasni Mukti, said here Tuesday.

"Most of the dengue fever patients were found in the three subdistricts," he said. In January 2010, there were 97 dengue fever cases in the three subdistricts. The number was higher than that of the same period in 2009, which was recorded at 93, he said.

Mukti said the health authorities found 1,100 dengue fever cases in the regency last year. January, February and March were the peak months of this Aedes mosquitoes-caused disease.

The subdistricts of Tawang, Cihideung and Cipedes had been the dengue fever endemics since 1997 because majority of the patients were from there out of 10 subdistricts in Tasikmalaya, he said.

In other West Java town of Cimahi, residents were warned of the danger of dengue fever out break, pending the peak of the rainy season in February and March 2010.

"The peak of the rainy season may occur in January, February to March this year, during which dengue cases may increase during that time, and the general public had been urged to watch it out," Deputy Director of Cibabat general hospital Huzen Rachman said.

According to the Cibabat hospital, in mid-December 2009 there were 45 cases per day, which in mid-January 2010 increased to 60 per day. Cases in Cimahi in 2009 reached 2,026, with seven deaths, while in 2008 the cases reached only 1,250 with six deaths.

Death cases in dengue outbreak in the current rainy season are also found in Kalimantan.

In South Kalimantan provincial capital Banjarmasin, four people died of dengue infection since January this year. All of the death victims were infants or children under five years old, according to the head of South Kaliantan Health Service, Diah R P.

In Central Kalimantan, five have died of dengue fever. "The death cases happened after the extraordinary happening was declared early last month," Wineini Marhaeni Rubay of the Central Kalimantan Health Service said.

In the meantime, in Manado, North Sulawesi, a total of 40 patients have been affected by the spread of dengue fever while in Ambon, Maluku Province, a five year old child has also died of the disease.

City braces for dengue fever

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 02/05/2010 9:27 PM

The city health agency is gearing up to face a spike in dengue fever attacks as 914 cases have been recorded in two months.

Agency head Dien Emawati said on Friday her agency would provide 20 beds and medical staff in five community health centers, including in Ciracas in East Jakarta, Cempaka Putih in Central Jakarta and Cilincing in North Jakarta.

“We will give priority to health centers that are far from hospitals. The patients won’t need to go to the hospital so we can reduce the burden on hospitals,” she said.

Dien added that doctors and nurses who would be assigned to the health centers would be selected from 313 new medical workers who were recruited last year.

The agency reported that the number of dengue fever cases reached 914 as of Feb. 3 this year, a 25 percent decline from the same period last year.

The first two months of 2009 saw 1,202 cases, with total incidents reaching 18,000.

Algae Extract Fights Dengue: Study

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, February 04, 2010

Patients suffering from dengue fever at Pasar Rebo Hospital in Jakarta. (Pembaruan/Jurnasyanto Sukarno)

Dengue fever sufferers may have a new option in the treatment of the often fatal disease as Indonesian doctors have found that a chlorella extract, a genus of single-celled green algae, accelerates the recovery process and increases the chances of surviving the disease.

“Our latest study found that giving a chlorella extract to dengue fever patients increases the blood platelets and improves the hemoglobin, allowing patients to recuperate faster,” Dr. Adi Teruna Effendi, an internist who headed the research team, told a news conference on Thursday.

The study ran from April to October 2009, involving 84 serious dengue fever patients at the Karya Bhakti Hospital in Bogor under the supervision of researchers from the Indonesian Internists Association and the Faculty of Human Ecology at the Bogor Agriculture Institute.

Adi said the team divided the patients into two groups; the first getting the chlorella extract as a supporting supplement during treatment while the others received standard treatment as advised by the World Health Organization.

“Those who were given the chlorella extract stayed in hospital only 2.76 days on average, while those who didn’t stayed 4.4 days,” he said.

Adi said the quick recovery was the result of the chlorella boosting the body’s immunity system because of its high concentration of amino acid and a range of vitamins.

He said that chlorella worked as an inhibitor that prevented the dengue virus from replicating and decreased the chance of patients suffering from high fever.

“The supplement could shorten the patients stay in the hospital,” the doctor said.

During the study, Adi said, the team monitored the patients’ platelet and hemoglobin level everyday and those who were given chlorella extract showed impressive progress.

Adi said the findings had been reported to the Ministry of Health and received a positive response. “The ministry has asked us to research chlorella further to develop more possibilities,” he said, adding that scientists in Japan were also interested and wanted to collaborate on the study.

Unfortunately, he said, Indonesia was not yet able to produce the extract locally and had to import it from Japan.

“We already know how to grow green algae but we don’t have the technology to extract its certain substances yet,” he said.

Adi said chlorella could be consumed as a preventative medicinal supplement.

“The chlorella extract is quite expensive but people can take raw chlorella or the tablet to boost their immune system,” he said.

Rainy Season Brings Threat Of Diseases

Antara News, Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:02 WIB, Fardah

Jakarta ( ANTARA News) - As Indonesia has entered the rainy season, a number of diseases, such as chikungunya, dengue fever, diarrhea, bird flu and lymphatic filariasis, are threathening people in some areas.

Diseases like chikungunya, dengue fever, and lymphatic filariasis are spread through certain mosquito bites, while bird flu and diarrhea are usually rampant in a cold rainy season.

Rainy season has come in Indonesia since around November 2009. Over the past few months, Chikungunya cases have been reported especially in the provinces of South Sumatra, Bengkulu (Sumatra Island), South Kalimantan, Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Riau, Jambi, East Java, Central Java, and West Java,

Chikungunya (pronounced as chik`-en-GUN-yah) fever is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes - Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is also called yellow fever mosquito. The symptoms include severe and persistent joint pain and fever similar to dengue fever. It is usually not life threatening. But the joint pains can last for a long time and hence full recovery may take months.

Chikungunya disease was first detected in 1952 in Africa at a place called Makonde Plateau located in a border area between Tanzania and Mozambique. The name "chikungunya" is from the Makonde language and its meaning is "that which bends up" as Chikungunya patients walk in a stooped posture due to joint pain. Chikungunya is also known as Chicken guinea, Chicken gunaya and Chickengunya.

The Aedes mosquitoes that transmit chikungunya breed in a wide variety of man-made containers which are common around human dwellings.

In December 2009, over 500 residents of Kayuagung and Tulung Selapan sub districts, Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) District, South Sumatra Province, were infected with chikungunya virus.

About 50 percent of 1,100 residents or 240 families at Guci village, Ujan Mas sub district, South Sumatra, were believed to be infected with chikungunya. In Tulung Selapan, there were about 500 patients and in Kayuagung around 30.

In last November 2009, chikungunya disease has affected around 500 residents in five sub districts in Rejang Lebong District, Bengkulu Province, Sumatra Island.

The local health service immediately conducted mosquito control fogging activity and distributed abate (potent micro-granule insecticide) to kill mosquito larvae, in the five affected sub districts, he said.

In South Kalimantan, chikungunya has infected a number of residents in 11 districts and cities since late 2009. Some 3,098 people in the 11 districts and cities of South Kalimantan were infected.

In Banjar district alone, some 1,622 residents of 33 villages in four sub districts suffered from chikungunya in early 2010. The local health authorities have declared the chikungunya cases an extraordinary happening.

Almost all districts in South Kalimantan Province, except Banjarmasin and Barito Kuala, were affected by Chikungunya, Rosihan Adhani, head of the South Kalimantan provincial health service, said early January 2010. The disease was predicted to continue affecting the districts until Frebruary 2010, he added.

Another mosquito-borne disease affecting some regions is lymphatic filariasis, known as Elephantiasis. Lymphatic filariasis is infection with the filarial worms, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi or B. timori.

These parasites are transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito and develop into adult worms in the lymphatic vessels, causing severe damage and swelling (lymphoedema).

The infection can be treated with drugs. However, chronic conditions may not be curable by anti-filarial drugs and require other measures, for example surgery for hydrocele, care of the skin and exercise to increase lymphatic drainage in lymphoedema.

Lymphatic Filariasis puts at risk more than a billion people in more than 80 countries. Over 120 million have already been affected by it, over 40 million of them are seriously incapacitated and disfigured by the disease.

In Indonesia, lymphatic filariasis disease has been reportedly endemic in 368 of the country`s 471 districts/cities. The government has launched massive medication in order to completely eradicate the disease by 2018.

In Southeast Sulawesi, for instance, filariasis or elephantiasis cases have been reported occurring in six districts, namely Konawe, Buton, Konawe Utara, Konawe Selatan, Muna, and Baubau City, Abdul Razak, the head of the Southeast Sulawesi provincial health office`s disease control unit, said last December 2009.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection which in recent decades has become a major international public health concern. Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world, predominantly in urban and semi-urban areas.

The Health Ministry has reported that in the current rainy season, the dengue fever cases have increased in the provinces of Riau, Jakarta, West Java, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, West Sulawesi, and North Maluku. Dengue cases have also been reported in Bangka Belitung, East Kalimantan, Gorontalo, and Palu.

Seven residents of Bangka Belitung (Babel) died of dengue fever late last year. Fogging had been conducted in 20 houses to prevent the further spread of the disease, Helmi Soefie, head of the Babel health service`s disease control section, said last December 2009.

In Bangkalan, East Java, the number of patients suffering from dengue fever in the current rainy season at Syarifah Ambami Rato Ebu (RSA) hospital was also on the rise, the hospital`s director said last January 11, 2010.

"Since the beginning of this year the number of dengue fever patients treated at this hospital has increased to 22 persons," RSA hospital director Teguh Basukohadi said here on Monday.

Up to November 2009, Indonesia recorded 137,600 dengue cases with 1,170 deaths, while in 2008 there were 126,600 cases with 1,084 fatalities.

"We should be on alert of dengue fever as the country has entered the rainy season,"

Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said when visiting Matahari community health post (posyandu) in Cilincing, North Jakarta, last January 8, 2010.

As for bird flu or Avian Influenza (AI - H5N1) virus, Indonesia reported fewer deaths from bird flu in 2009, but health specialists warn that the risk to humans remains high.

Over the past two months, pultry deaths due to bird flu virus have been reported among other things in South Sumatra, Lampung (Southern Sumatra), Bangka Belitung,

Central Kalimantan, Riau, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, and Central Java.

Late December 2009, South Sumatra`s Metro city animal husbandry culled at least 39 chickens infected with the bird flu virus. Some 320 chickens were dead at South Metro sub district and 323 others in West Metro.

Last January 19, Pamekasan regency (Est Java Province) veterinary office culled 270 bird flu-infected chickens to prevent the spread of this dangerous virus.

Meanwhile, diarrhea killed four persons in Caringin sub district, Sukabumi District, West Java, since September 2009. The health service has recorded a total of 72 diarrhea cases at eight villages, at Caringin sub district so far.

Dengue fever figures in East Java regency

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 01/12/2010 9:41 AM | National

The local administration in Jember regency, East Java, has recorded a total of 141 cases of dengue fever in the first 11 days of the new year and say the number may increase in the coming weeks.

“Usually, the number peaks between January and February at the height of the wet season,” Yumarlis, spokesman of the local health agency, told tempointeraktif.com Tuesday.

He said that the Aedes Aegypti mosquito population rose and reached its peak during the wet season, when the number of areas covered with stagnant water increased and became a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Last year, 962 people in the regency contracted the fever and five of them died.

Dengue outbreak hits Balikpapan

Nurni Sulaiman, The Jakarta Post, Balikpapan | Tue, 01/12/2010 1:01 PM | National

Two people have died and 176 others have been treated in hospital in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan since December 2009 after being infected with dengue fever.

Balikpapan mayoralty health agency head Diyah Muryani said Tuesday the dengue outbreak was already out of control.

She said the agency had encouraged local people and schools to keep their environment clean in order to prevent dengue fever.

Hospitals were obliged to give free treatment to dengue fever patients, she added

19 Semarang residents died of leptospirosis

Antara News, Tuesday, January 12, 2010 01:51 WIB

Semarang (ANTARA News) - As many as 19 Semarang city residents died of leptopsirosis in the past two years, Joko Mardijanto, head of Central Java`s health office`s disease control and environmental sanitation section, said here on Monday.

Semarang was the region in Central Java with the highest incidence of the disease caused by bacteria transmitted by the urine of rats over the past two years, the Central Java public health official said.

In 2008, a total of 231 leptopsirosis cases happened in the city with 15 of them ending in the sufferer`s death. In 2009, there were 151 cases with four fatalities.

The fatalities occurred mainly because of belated treatment, Djoko said, adding that the disease was associated with flooding.

"We call on residents in flood-prone areas to be extra alert when their neighborhoods are under flood waters because the risk of contracting leptopsirosis will then increase," he said.

Djoko said beside Semarang, the Demak and Pati regions of Central Java province were also vulnerable to the disease.

People living in regions where floods often happen must not only guard against dengue fever but also against leptopsirosis, he said.

Dengue patients increasing in East Java`s Bangkalan

Antara News, Monday, January 11, 2010 19:30 WIB

Bangkalan, E Java (ANTARA News) - The number of patients suffering from dengue fever in the current rainy season at Syarifah Ambami Rato Ebu (RSA) hospital in Bangkalan, East Java, is on the rise, the hospital`s director said.

"Since the beginning of this year the number of dengue fever patients treated at this hospital has increased to 22 persons," RSA hospital director Teguh Basukohadi said here on Monday.

He said that the number of dengue patients since early this month was high compared with that in the previous month (December 2009).

"The increase in the number of dengue patients is still categorized normal because all of them still could be handled and we still have enough beds to accommodate them," he said.

Seven Babel residents die of dengue fever

Antara News, Wednesday, December 30, 2009 18:31 WIB

Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA News) - Seven residents of Bangka Belitung (Babel) have died of dengue fever, according to a local official.

Fogging had been conducted in 20 houses to prevent the further spread of the disease, Helmi Soefie, head of the Babel health service`s disease control section, said here on Wednesday.

He also urged local residents to follow a healthy life style in order to prevent the breeding of the mosquitoes that spread the disease.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection which n recent decades has become a major international public health concern. Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world, predominantly in urban and semi-urban areas.

Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), a potentially lethal complication, was first recognized in the 1950s during dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand.

The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. Some 2.5 billion people, two fifths of the world`s population, are now at risk from dengue. WHO currently estimates there may be 50 million dengue infections worldwide every year.

In 2007 alone, there were more than 890 000 reported cases of dengue in the Americas, of which 26 000 cases were DHF.

Two die as dengue hits West Kutai

Nurni Sulaiman, The Jakarta Post, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan | Sun, 12/27/2009 4:29 PM

Dengue fevers have hit West Kutai, East Kalimantan, killing two people in the past week and infected hundreds this month.

Beatrix, a nurse at the Long Hubung health center, West Kutai, said dengue fevers mostly attacked kids under 12 years old.

"This month, hundreds of local people may have contracted dengue fever," she said.

She called on the villagers to be vigilant of flood during this rainy season, which is usually followed by a widespread dengue.

Dengue affects 70 percent of Sukabumi`s subdistricts

Antara News, Monday, November 30, 2009 00:48 WIB

Sukabumi, W Java (ANTARA News) - The Health Service of Sukabumi district has declared 32 of the 47 subdistricts (70 percent) in Sukabumi as dengue fever endemic areas.

Head of Contagious Disease Control Section of the Sukabumi Health Service, Tejo Sriwijoyo, said that up to October this year a total of 593 people had suffered from dengue fever.

But the figure is smaller than that in the same period a year earlier. "Up to October last year, the number of dengue sufferers had reached over 1,000 patients," Tejo said.

He said that the number of dengue endemic areas continued to increase since 2007. Only in two years, the number of subdistricts affected by dengue fever had reached 32.

Disease outbreak concerns after Indonesian quake

Reuters, by Sunanda Creagh, Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:10am EDT

JAKARTA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Health workers in Indonesia's quake-hit Sumatra are battling to contain local outbreaks of diarrhoea and dengue fever, and require more specialist equipment, officials and a doctor said on Monday.

The 7.6 magnitude quake, which struck on Sept. 30, killed at least 807 people and badly damaged health care facilities in the city of Padang and surrounding areas.

Around 10 percent of the region is still without a local health clinic, said Gde Yogadhita, the World Health Organisation's emergency field operations programme manager.

"There has been no widespread outbreak of disease yet, but we are seeing more cases of diarrhoea and dengue fever," he said, adding people were also suffering from tetanus and respiratory infections.

Matt Eckersley, an Australian doctor in Padang, said more specialists, such as burns experts, were needed to treat the victims.

"We have only two nurses per 50 people, and they are the same nurses who have been here since the beginning. They are exhausted," added, Ade Edward, head of West Sumatra's earthquake coordinating desk.

"We have enough medicine for this week but it will run out soon. We need four weeks supply in advance but now we only have enough for one week in advance."

The WHO's Gde Yogadhita said there was also a shortage of specialist equipment.

"We are trying to arrange new medical equipment, including machines that were already not working properly because of previous quakes." Padang, which lies in an extremely active seismic area, also suffered a serious quake in 2007.

The United Nations has launched a $38 million appeal to pay for shelter, restoration of water facilities, the fight against disease and other urgent humanitarian needs.

Many roads in rural areas such as Agam and Padang Pariaman are still cut off by landslides, and helicopters are making up to five food and aid drops a day to isolated survivors, Ade Edward said.

(Editing by Ed Davies and Jeremy Laurence)

S. Jakarta to bring doctors to community units

The Jakarta post, Sat, 02/14/2009 2:44 PM  

JAKARTA: To curb the spread of dengue fever during and after the wet season, the South Jakarta municipal administration will implement a program called "Doctor with Family Welfare Unit (PKK) goes to Community Unit (RW)". 

The program was scheduled to commence Feb. 6, but was postponed because the health agency was not ready yet. 

"We're still preparing it. We will start this month," South Jakarta Mayor Syahrul Effendi told beritajakarta.com on Friday. -JP

Fatmawati hospital treats 119 dengue patients

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 02/11/2009 12:25 PM  

JAKARTA: The Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta said it treated 119 dengue fever patients in the first week of February. 

Although the figure was slightly lower than the 130 patients recorded in the first week of January, the hospital said it had prepared more medicine and blood supply to anticipate mounting dengue fever cases. 

"We have prepared sufficient drugs should more dengue fever patients arrive, but we hope it won't happen," Atom Kadam, the head of public relations at the hospital, told beritajakarta.com. 

In January, the hospital treated 427 dengue fever patients.

Dengue kills one, infects 26 others in Mamuju

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 02/07/2009 2:45 PM  

A dengue fever outbreak has killed one person and infected 26 others in Mamuju District, West Sulawesi, a local health official said Saturday. 

“The Mamuju health agency has declared an extraordinary alert status for the outbreak and told the people to be cautious,” Firmon, the agency head, said as quoted by Antara. 

The 26 patients of dengue fever were currently being treated in Mamuju General Hospital, he said. 

The agency has distributed mosquito abatement powder, or abate, to kill the eggs of mosquitoes, which are usually laid on the surface of stagnant water, and sprayed mosquito repellent. 

It has also set up 27 command posts in local community health center and hospitals in the district to monitor the disease outbreak.