JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - More than 2,000 people in Indonesia's capital Jakarta have been diagnosed with dengue fever in January this year, with one person confirmed killed by the mosquito-borne disease, a health official said.

Jakarta Health Agency head Widyastuti, who like many Indonesians go by one name, said on Monday (March 4) that a total of 2,282 people in Jakarta have been diagnosed with dengue fever in January this year.

Ms Widyastuti said that the three areas with the highest prevalence of dengue were West Jakarta, East Jakarta and South Jakarta.

"As of Sunday afternoon, the highest rates of incidence were in Kalideres (West Jakarta), Pasar Rebo, Cipayung, Matraman (in East Jakarta) and Jagakarsa (in South Jakarta)," she said as quoted by the Kompas.com news website, adding that the rates in each area were relatively equal.

To stop the disease from spreading further, she urged residents to actively check for mosquito larvae nests, while the agency would deploy larvae controllers to households as part of a government-sponsored mosquito nest eradication campaign programme.

Jakarta has been on alert for dengue since the start of the year after the city saw a surge in cases.

Across Indonesia, the Health Ministry has recorded almost 16,700 cases, with a death toll of 176 as of Feb 8. The provinces with the highest number of reported cases at the time were East Java with almost 3,700 cases, West Java with more than 2,200 and East Nusa Tenggara with more than 1,100 cases.

The authorities have said that the dengue outbreak is due to the peak of the rainy season.