Dengue deaths worrying Government

Star: Dengue fever is on the rise in the country. And the number of deaths related to the disease has got the authorities uneasy.
Although state health officials have been generally reluctant to give the actual number of deaths, the national toll for the first nine months of the year is said to be nearing the 67 recorded last year.
But only four states have released their death toll so far. They are Selangor (17), Perak (5), Negri Sembilan (5) and Penang (4). Others declined saying they were leaving it to the Health Ministry to announce them.
Besides the lackadaisical attitude of the people in keeping their surroundings free of breeding grounds, the fogging carried out by local authorities and health officials has also not been effective.
These have resulted in the number of dengue cases shooting up by 50% – from an average of 400 a week last year to 600 a week this year.
These developments have upset the authorities.
As an immediate measure, the Health Ministry announced yesterday a large-scale anti-dengue operation beginning Oct 1 with the focus on Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor, which have registered a big number of dengue fever cases in recent weeks.
“Health teams will also be brought in from the less-affected states of Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Malacca and Negri Sembilan to join the operation in the four states,” said Dr Marzukhi Md Isa, Deputy Director of Disease Control, Division of Disease Control in the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary to the Health Ministry Datuk Lee Kah Choon said local authorities had been asked to step up cleanliness campaigns, which include clearing clogged drains, removing rubbish and emptying containers of water.
“The people too must take a more proactive stand in safeguarding their housing areas,” he said yesterday.
“When a case is reported, we send a team to that area immediately. Even if it’s just a single case, we fog the affected area, killing mosquitoes that are alive at that point.
“After a week the team will return to the area to exterminate any mosquitoes that might have hatched from the larvae present in the water,” said Lee in an interview.
Besides that, he said, officers also go from house to house in the affected neighbourhood distributing leaflets to educate and raise awareness of this deadly menace.
The public too can assist in the fight against dengue, he added.
“Help yourselves by seeking and destroying breeding areas. Change the water regularly in your plants or add Abate to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
“Don’t always just wait for others to come and clean up. If you step outside your house and see that your drains are clogged, please help unclog it. If everyone takes a small step to help, it will make a big difference,” stressed Lee.
“We have never considered the dengue epidemic over and we have been fighting it all the while.
“As mosquitoes can even travel through vehicles, there are no boundaries,” said Lee.