Klang Valley records surge in dengue fever cases

Star: PUTRAJAYA: The Klang Valley has recorded a surge in dengue cases despite decreasing trends elsewhere.
The areas surrounding Setapak such as Ayer Panas, Taman Melati, Pulapol in Jalan Semarak, Wadieburn Camp, Section 10 in Wangsa Maju, Taman Danau, Keramat Wangsa and Jalan Gombak have become hotspots for dengue cases in the city.
Director of Disease Control Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat said unlike places such as Penang, which only reported 86 dengue cases last week, the number of dengue infections in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor continued to chart cases in the hundreds.
Other states reported on average 50 cases a week.
“This is due to the effective measures implemented by the various local authorities, particularly in searching out and destroying aedes mosquito breeding sites.
“However, in Selangor, the number of cases has actually climbed, from 313 to 329, and in Kuala Lumpur, from 190 to 242.
“This means that the local authorities in the Klang Valley have not been very effective in eradicating the disease,” Dr Ramlee told reporters here yesterday.
“They should do more, especially at a time when the country is experiencing frequent rains, which encourages the breeding of mosquitoes.”
The country has so far recorded 1,016 suspected dengue cases, 26% of which were later found to be positive.
A nine-year-old girl in Sabah and a 53-year-old woman in Malacca were the latest cases of haemorrhagic dengue fever fever.
So far this year there had been 72 deaths.
“In comparison, we had 99 deaths last year” Dr Ramlee said, adding that the authorities would continue to distribute free larvicide to schools and health clinics.