Rain’s over, but dengue outbreak a real threat

NST: The first round of floods in the East Coast ended yesterday but there is an imminent danger of another threat — a dengue outbreak.
The Aedes mosquitoes flourish during rainy seasons and the continuous downpour last week has created breeding grounds.
State Health Committee chairman Datuk Ishak Muhamad said there was a possibility that there could be more Aedes mosquitoes in the next few days.
Based on the the Kuantan Meteorological Department’s forecast, the next round of floods in the East Coast will begin early next month, giving the mosquitoes ample time to breed.
Ishak said the State Health Department and the local authorities had been instructed to intensify efforts to destroy these breeding grounds, especially in housing estates.
So far this year, there had been eight deaths recorded in Pahang due to dengue fever, compared to the three fatal cases last year.
Cases in the State peaked during the first quarter of this year before ebbing in June.
However, the number increased again in September, with most of the new dengue cases recorded in Kuantan, Pekan and Maran.