Sarawak Goes All Out To Contain Dengue Outbreak

KUCHING, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak Medical Department is collaborating with local councils to embark on a massive campaign to contain a dengue outbreak following the latest death of a man of dengue haemorrhagic fever in Marudi.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan, Wednesday night said 900 dengue cases, with seven deaths, mostly in northern Sarawak had been reported so far this year, a drastic increase of 115 percent from the same period last year.
No deaths from the disease, transmitted by the Aedes mosquito as the vector, were reported last year.
"As part of proactive measures to increase public vigilance, these concerted efforts include searching and destroying potential breeding grounds of the Aedes mosquito, especially in urban areas," he told a press conference at the Kuching International Airport here before departing for Miri.
Apart from carrying out fogging in high-risk areas, he said it was also important that members of the public were aware of the dangers of Aedes mosquitoes lurking in their gardens or construction sites.
So far the medical fraternity has yet to find a vaccine for dengue haemorrhagic fever. The federal Health Ministry has been put on full alert with all state directors being asked to monitor the situation.
On the avian flu, he said the state government had also been put on high alert, especially in the monitoring of imported poultry from countries where outbreaks have surfaced, including Indonesia, China and the Philippines.
He said locals were advised not to bring in birds such as fighting cocks and kampung chicken from Kalimantan across the border in Indonesia, which had reported six deaths from the influenza recently.
So far 5,000 random samples taken for analysis by the Sarawak Veterinary Authority from imported and local poultry as well as from the border areas had tested negative for the virus, he said.
Chan added that the police and army were also stepping up surveillance along the long and porous Sarawak-Kalimantan border as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the disease into the state.