Ministry's losing war on dengue

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry yesterday took Klang Valley residents to task for a disappointing response to the "war" against dengue.
Its Deputy Minister, Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, said the lack of public cooperation had contributed to the increase in dengue and chikungunya cases.
"The issue here is that city dwellers refuse to get involved in gotong-royong. They think only residents' associations or city councils are responsible for maintaining cleanliness and checking on Aedes breeding sites in their areas."
He said urban residents had a lackadaisical attitude to the problem, thinking that they would not get bitten by the Aedes mosquito.
"They think that others will get the virus but they won't.'
On Monday, the ministry revealed that Kuala Lumpur and Selangor had the highest number of dengue cases over the first 17 days of the year.
Selangor recorded 1,727 cases with four deaths while Kuala Lumpur had 307 cases with one death.
The numbers were far higher compared to the same period last year.
Dr Abdul Latiff said although the awareness campaign on dengue and chikungunya seemed to succeed in other states, the response in the Klang Valley proved otherwise.
"We are going all out to fight the viruses but if the people are not worried about their health, then we don't know what else to do."
Dr Abdul Latiff said the ministry would fine occupants with Aedes breeding grounds.
"We are not planning to increase the fine but we need to emphasise the Communication for Behavioural Impact (Combi) programme to obtain public cooperation," he said, adding that there were 11,892 Combi volunteers nationwide.
A total of RM3.4 million in fines was collected last year from those found to have Aedes breeding grounds in their homes.
Dr Abdul Latiff was speaking to reporters after launching the "I Care Vision 20/20" project at the Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital.
The project, in its second phase, aims to train kindergarten teachers to identify eye problems among children aged between 2 and 6.