Indonesian Health Ministry issues dengue warning to Bali tourists
Published on: Monday, April 15, 2024
By: Bernama
For illustrative purposes only. - Filepic by Bernama
JAKARTA: The Health Ministry has issued an early warning asking local and foreign tourists to remain alert against dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), which is on the rise in Bali, reported ANTARA news agency.
"We also carry out warnings in local media to remind people to beware of dengue fever. The disease usually increases at the beginning of the year," the ministry's director of infectious disease prevention and control, Imran Pambudi, said on Monday.
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He made the statement in response to a tourist from Queensland, Australia, being diagnosed with dengue fever during a 10-day holiday in Bali. The case attracted the attention of foreign media outlet Daily Mail.
The Health Ministry has issued a circular to all health services regarding dengue fever awareness, Pambudi said.
"We always provide feedback reports every month," he added.
However, he could not confirm the number of dengue fever cases among tourists in Bali.
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The Ministry of Health is ensuring the availability of hospital beds and medicines for dengue patients in Bali.
"Based on our monitoring, before Eid al-Fitr (April 10, 2024), the condition was still safe. We received no reports about the shortage or emergency of dengue fever in regions," Pambudi informed.
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Earlier, in a report published on April 13, the Daily Mail asked tourists to be careful when travelling to Bali due to a drastic increase in dengue fever cases in the area.
"One unlucky Queensland woman shared her diagnosis whilst connected to an IV drip in an Ubud hospital room on the popular Indonesian island," the report states.
She shared the story of her holiday in Bali via her Facebook account. She wrote that she had not seen a single mosquito or been bitten by one, but still tested positive for dengue fever.
However, she was grateful to receive hospital treatment covered by insurance.
Many responses to her post said that several travellers had flooded social media with their own stories of intense pain, uncontrollable vomiting, and body temperatures reaching above 39 degrees Celsius.
Other tourists on the account said that dengue fever cases in Bangli district, Bali, had increased by around 65 per cent compared to last year.
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