13 dengue deaths this month

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Thirteen people have died from dengue fever so far this year.
Eleven of them were from Selangor and one each from Negri Sembilan and here.
Deputy Director-General of Health, Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat, said efforts were being made to prevent and contain the outbreak of dengue nationwide, especially in Selangor which has the highest number of deaths and cases.
"We have roped in health officers from Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Terengganu, Kelantan and Negri Sembilan to help combat the dengue outbreak in Selangor, especially in Subang, Shah Alam and Ampang Jaya," he added.
Last week, enforcement officers issued 254 notices and 434 compounds to those found breeding aedes mosquitoes and collected RM54,520 in fines.
Two construction sites in Selangor were also slapped with a stop-work order for breeding aedes mosquitoes.
Dr Ramlee said although the number of cases was declining compared to the first two weeks of the year, the ministry was still concerned, as between Jan 14 and 20, 1,423 suspected dengue cases were reported nationwide, compared to 1,506 the previous week.
In the third week, Selangor recorded 576 cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur (312), Penang (100), Johor (82), Perak (64), Sarawak (59), Pahang (55), Negri Sembilan (38), Kedah (37), Malacca (30), Kelantan (22), Sabah (19), Terengganu (14), Putrajaya (11), and Perlis (six).
Dr Ramlee said construction sites were the main culprits in the breeding of aedes mosquitos.
"We are distributing Temephos, an abate, free of charge to members of the public to kill aedes mosquitos," he added.
Temephos is a white, crystalline solid in its pure form.