Dengue: 45 fatalities recorded from Jan to mid-July

KUALA TERENGGANU - There were 63,966 dengue fever cases with 45 fatalities recorded from January to mid-July this year, said Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

She said the number of cases rose by 129.2 per cent from 27,914 cases in the same period last year, while death cases increased by 136.8 per cent (19 cases).

"Speaking of environmental cleanliness, dengue fever is one of the illnesses that can be a constant concern. So to stop Aedes mosquitoes from breeding, everyone must take responsibility for maintaining a clean environment,” she said in her speech at the state-level Madani Afiat and One Hour Malaysia Clean Up Programme at Padang Hiliran People’s Housing here today.

Speaking to reporters later, Dr Zaliha said the ministry was looking at the effectiveness of the current strategy of controlling dengue through the release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.

"We have implemented this initiative in 28 areas, with success rates ranging from 30 to 100 per cent. We plan to continue monitoring its effectiveness for a year or two, and if it proves successful, we will roll it out nationwide,” she said.

Dr Zaliha said MyCHAMPION COMBI volunteers with 31,065 members nationwide have also been instrumental in supporting dengue prevention and control efforts.

She said these volunteers play a role in raising public awareness and had conducted a total of 73,170 visit sessions as of June this year.

In addition, over 44,000 people had participated in 894 gotong-royong sessions held nationwide.

The minister also recommended that all government departments, non-governmental organisations, communities and volunteers in Terengganu make the fourth Saturday of the month as a day to clean residential areas to curb the spread of dengue cases. - BERNAMA