DENGUE FEVER CASES DROP 3.9 PER CENT

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement today the cumulative dengue fever cases reported until today were 19,450 cases compared to 6,229 cases for the same period in 2022, which was an increase of 212.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, a total of 15 deaths due to dengue fever complications in the ninth EW were reported this year compared to two deaths for the same period in 2022, an increase of 13 deaths.

He also said that 84 locality hotspots were reported for the week compared with 66 locality hotspots in the previous week with 57 locality hotspots reported in Selangor, 16 in Sabah, four each in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya and three in Perak.

For chikungunya surveillance, Dr Noor Hisham said two cases were recorded in the ninth ME with one case each in Penang and Selangor while the cumulative number of chikungunya cases to date is 97.

For Zika surveillance, Dr Noor Hisham said a total of 448 blood samples and one urine sample were tested and all produced negative results.

He said the recent floods in several states had caused rubbish and containers to be accumulated and have become potential Aedes mosquito breeding grounds which can cause dengue outbreaks.

Several actions need to be taken to control the outbreak of dengue fever in areas that were recently flooded, among them, residents as well as the local authorities (PBT) need to quickly discard containers in the area as soon as the flood water subsides.

He added that residents in the flood-affected areas have been advised to put abate in water pools or puddles and also use repellants.

He said the movement of people from one place to another can also spread the dengue virus from asymptomatic dengue fever carriers.

“If you have symptoms of fever, joint pain or body aches, headaches and others you should seek treatment immediately and do not delay because dengue fever can be deadly,” he added.– BERNAMA