People Urged To Wage Seek & Destroy War Against Aedes Mosquito

KEPALA BATAS, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry, Saturday urged people nationwide to wage war against Aedes mosquitoes by seeking and destroying their breeding grounds if they want to live without dengue.
The ministry's Parliamentary Secretary, Lee Kah Choon in making the call, said efforts to destroy Aedes breeding grounds was not that of the government alone but the people too should play their part.
"We do not want anybody to point fingers or pass the buck by saying only these or that persons were responsible for allowing Aedes mosquitoes to breed.
"People who find mosquito breeding grounds anywhere should take the initiative to destroy them," he told reporters after attending the launching World Mental Health Day activities on behalf of Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, here Saturday.
He said the latest dengue outbreak had reached quite a serious level with the number of patients steadily rising, especially this month, and Penang was among the states that were badly hit.
Lee said 131 cases were reported over the past week in Penang, making the number of people confirmed to have been infected with the disease in the state to 257.
A victim in Penang Hospital's intensive care unit was reported to be in critical condition, he said. Since August, four people had died of dengue fever in Penang.
The major dengue hot spots in Penang presently are Sungai Nibong, Bayan Baru, Pantai Jerejak and Teluk Kumbar.

On mental health, Lee said the level of awareness of the problem among Malaysians was worrying with statistics showing that on average, seven people with mental stress committed suicide daily.
Last year alone, over 2,000 people took their own lives and most of them resorted to that extreme option due to lifestyle changes, he said.
He said studies had also shown that every suicide caused mental anguish to 20 other family members.
"We want Malaysians to be aware of the importance of taking care of their mental health because physical health will be meaningless if the person is mentally unwell," he said. Malaysians, he said, should take care of their mental health and consult psychiatrists or counsellors if problems they faced caused pressures to their lives.
Lee said depression should be considered a dangerous illness and those experiencing it should quickly seek specialist treatment to prevent them from committing undesirable actions.
He said 27 hospitals with 85 psychiatrists and 56 counsellors nationwide presently provided psychiatric service to people with such problems.
"Besides, 754 Health Clinics also render services to safeguard mental health and until to 2004, 40 family health specialists and 135 medical assistants have also been trained to help treat people with depression," he said.