Materia Medica Malaysiana

361 Dengue Deaths Recorded Over Last Six Years

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- A total of 361 people died of dengue fever from 130,673 cases reported since 1999, Health Ministry Disease Control Division Director Dr Ramlee Rahmat said Friday.
He said the total did not include the latest death reported in the second week of this year.
In the last six years, 2002 recorded the highest number of dengue deaths with 99 from 32,767 cases reported, he told reporters here Friday.
Based on Health Ministry statistics, a total of 37 deaths were recorded in 1999 from 10,146 cases reported, 45 died in 2000 (7,146), 50 people in 2001 (16,368), 72 in 2003 (31,043) and 58 last year (33,203).
He said in Putrajaya alone, 213 cases were reported for the whole of last year and for the first week of this year there were eight cases.
However, he said, the number deaths and cases reported in Malaysia remained at a low level compared with several neighbours, including Thailand and Singapore.
The tourism sector need not worry as the ministry was constantly monitoring the situation, he said.
He added that the disease could be contained if everyone played their part, including continuously destroying larvae breeding areas.