Johor Health Department releases Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes for dengue control
17 Oct 2023 09:17pm
Mosquito - For illustration purpose
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State Health and Unity Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said the operation was carried out in two People's Housing Projects (PPR) localities in Kempas here for a period of eight weeks from Sept 16.
He explained that this control method was taken due to the cumulative dengue cases recorded at 8,233 in the 41st epidemiological week, an increase of 211 per cent compared to 2,648 cases in the same period last year.
"A total of 239 dengue cases were reported in the same week, an increase of 10 per cent from the 218 cases reported in the previous week.
"The highest number of cases was in Johor Bahru with 179 cases followed by Kulai with 21 cases," he said in a statement today.
Wolbachia is a bacterium and a form of biological control introduced into Aedes mosquitoes to prevent the transmission of dengue viruses. - BERNAMA
