Dengue epidemic,and it will get worse

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: The country is facing a dengue epidemic. And it is expected to get worse due to global warming.
Last week, the number of dengue cases breached the 1,000 mark for the second time in a month, signalling an epidemic.
A total of 1,044 cases were reported last week. The previous week, it stood at 1,116.
Between January and June, a total of 25,858 dengue cases were reported nationwide compared with 16,808 cases during the same period last year.
The disease has claimed 56 lives so far this year compared with 46 during the same period last year.
Hospitals and health clinics have been put on alert and the government has ordered the National Dengue Operations Centre and all state and district operation centres to be open from 8am to 4.30pm.
Deputy director-general of Health Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat said: "It is partly due to global warming.
"We are going to see a rise in vector-borne and water-borne diseases."
He called on Malaysians to check the spread of the disease by destroying Aedes mosquito-breeding grounds and following the do’s and don’ts outlined by the department.
"It is not just the mosquitoes which are going to pose a threat to public health. We can also expect more water-borne diseases due to global warming."
At the recent global warming conference held here, scientists expressed concern that rising temperatures could have a huge impact on people’s health in the Asia-Pacific region, causing more of everything, from food poisoning to dengue and malaria.
The alarming rise in dengue is also seen in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and some other countries in the region.
Selangor, with 9,137 dengue cases, tops the list with the highest number of cases in the country followed by Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (4,548), Johor (1,685), Perak (1,555) and Kelantan (1,530).
Dr Ramlee said enforcement checks nationwide showed owners of houses were the main "breeders" of the Aedes mosquito, followed by construction sites, schools and factories.
Between January and June 30, the department issued 7,526 notices and 8,277 compound notices and collected RM1,185,040 in fines.
The public can contact the National Dengue Operation Centre by calling 03-88810200 or 03-88810300.