Cumulative dengue cases up 139pct as of July - health minister

The cumulative number of dengue fever cases from January to July this year has increased by 139 percent, with 59,057 cases compared with 24,743 recorded for the same period last year.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said that in the same period, the death rate due to dengue fever was also reported to have increased by 122 percent, involving 40 fatalities compared with only eight recorded last year.

“For Selangor, a total of 29,382 cases have been reported from January to July 2 this year, compared with 15,207 cases recorded in the same period last year, an increase of 93 percent, while a total of seven deaths due to dengue fever complications have been reported in the state thus far.

“Thus, the Gotong Royong Mega Perangi Aedes 1.0 programme held today is an initiative of the Health Ministry, which will be organised twice a year with the involvement of all agencies and communities in eliminating the breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitoes,” Zaliha (above) said after officiating the Madani Afiat programme in Dewan Rakyat Batu Caves today.

She added that to ensure the community remain consistent in destroying Aedes mosquito breeding grounds, the ministry has introduced the One Hour Malaysia Clean Up initiative to ensure that the effort can be realised.

At the same event, Zaliha also announced that the One Hour Malaysia Clean Up initiative will be made into a monthly activity that will be carried out every Saturday of the fourth week of every month in an effort to reduce the number of dengue fever cases.

“Therefore, we call on all Malaysians, whether from government agencies, private sector, community, and NGOs to adopt this programme as a monthly activity that is hoped to reduce dengue fever cases and the risk of death due to dengue fever in the country,” she said.

Meanwhile, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari who was present at the event, said that an initiative such as One Hour Malaysia Clean Up is seen to be able to reduce dengue cases with the active involvement of the community in gotong-royong activities.

“What is important is for us to focus on the issue and encourage the community to get involved and be aware of dengue fever, as this is a matter of public health that requires cooperation and involvement from every level of society,” he said.

- Bernama