‘Full assault’ on dengue next week

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The Government, which has declared war against dengue, will be launching an all-out campaign against the pesky Aedes mosquito early next week in an effort to bring down the number of cases.
So far, 12 people have died and the number of cases from Jan 1 to Jan 23 this year had nearly doubled to 4,221 compared with 2,153 for the same period last year.
“We have to take drastic action and we will be doing this campaign on a big scale,” Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said.
“The people’s involvement in this campaign is important to ensure dengue can be eradicated quickly.
“It is very dangerous and should not be taken lightly as it can be fatal,” he said when met at the MCA Chinese New Year open house celebrations at Wisma MCA here Monday.
Liow urged the public to take extra precautions. “Although we are in the festive season, we still need to be alert as the dengue problem is widespread.
“If you think you have dengue but you are not sure, just go and see the doctor immediately,” he said.
Liow said he had instructed district health departments to set up special taskforces and intensify their fogging activities in all areas.
He said Malaysians should do their part by making sure their homes were mosquito-free, checking for water stagnation and cleaning up regularly.