JEDDAH, 13 March 2006 — At least 402 people in Jeddah, mostly in the southern part of the city, have been affected by dengue fever, according to statistics released by the Health Ministry. The Jeddah Municipality, in association with the Health Ministry and on instructions from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, has launched a massive campaign to control the disease.
Jeddah Governor Prince Mishaal ibn Majed chaired the meeting of a special committee on Saturday to discuss measures to control the disease. The meeting proposed the government allocate SR50 million to the anti-dengue campaign.
“King Abdullah has instructed the authorities to conduct a study on why the disease spread in the city,” the governor told reporters. He said the proposals made by the meeting would be presented to the king.
Prince Mishaal said the meeting had made short-term and long-term proposals for preventing the disease.
“The government will do everything possible to eliminate dengue fever from the city,” he added.
He downplayed cases of dengue in Jeddah, saying they were small in number compared to those in Singapore where 15,000 people were reportedly affected.
“Some 62 cases of dengue fever were reported last Friday,” said Dr. Yasser Al-Ghamdi, director of health in the Makkah region. He said the Jeddah municipality was making strenuous efforts to destroy the breeding grounds of mosquitoes.
Al-Ghamdi also pointed out that 10 workers of a company situated east of the expressway had undergone medical tests at King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah, adding that the results of the tests would be out by tomorrow.
King Fahd Hospital has received more than 10 dengue fever cases. Four dengue fever deaths have been reported in the Kingdom so far this year. In 2004 there were 291 cases and two fatalities. Last year there were 305 cases but no deaths.
Dengue is a seasonal disease that increases during winter when still water is not likely to evaporate quickly. The most dangerous places for dengue are around still water, such as puddles at construction sites, where mosquitoes breed.
The municipality, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has started a public-awareness campaign. So far they have distributed two million pamphlets and awareness booklets about the disease in addition to sending SMS messages.
Hamad Al-Otaibi, a resident of Kilo 14 area, told Arab News that the district, with a population of 17,000, was located close to an open sewage dump. He said the dump could accelerate spread of dengue virus among residents.
Hussein Ali, who works as a nurse at a polyclinic in the district, said his clinic had received more than 12 suspected dengue cases from a single family. The patients were later transferred to King Fahd Hospital, he added.
