Materia Medica Malaysiana

Dengue cases still low in Sabah: Dept

Kota Kinabalu: The number of dengue cases in Sabah is still relatively low compared to the peninsula states, said Sabah Deputy Health Director Dr Mohd Yusof Ibrahim Tuesday.
He said the State registered 792 dengue cases in 2003 and 877 last year, while some peninsula states recorded more than 1,000 cases.
On Saturday, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek issued a dengue alert throughout Peninsular Malaysia.
According to him, dengue cases reported in Selangor went up to 350 cases a week from 120, while Federal Territory from 100 to 250, Penang (50 from 20) and Pahang (80 from 30).
He said the dengue situation in Selangor, Penang, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur could worsen unless the people took drastic preventive measures, adding some 1,000 cases were reported throughout the country weekly since December.
Dr Yusof, meanwhile, said the slight increase of dengue cases in Sabah could be due to several factors.
"Among the factors are non-controllable ones such as the wet season when the aedes mosquito breeds easily with the availability of stagnant water everywhere," he said.
Another factor was the increased mobility of people as evident by the fact that there were very few dengue cases in the rural areas previously, he added.
"In Sabah, abandoned buildings are also listed as one of the factors that contribute to dengue cases," he said.
Dr Yusof said community awareness on dengue had also been rather complacent as many had been blaming the illegal immigrants for an outbreak of the disease.
"While it may be true that the illegal immigrants have contributed to the outbreak, the local community also play a part role too to prevent such an outbreak," he said.
He said the public should change their mindset by taking proactive measures to clean and clear their own surroundings of stagnant water.
He said the department would no longer issue warnings to owners of premises that breed the dengue virus-carrying mosquitoes.
"We have given enough reminders and warnings through the mediaÉwe have to compound them if they fail to comply with our directive," he said.