Developers told to include disease-prevention measures in building plans

Star: THE local authorities in Selangor have been urged to take into consideration the health aspects when evaluating and approving building plans and designs.
State health, estate workers’ affairs, poverty eradication and caring government committee chairman Dr Xavier Jeyakumar said developers and architects should not only give attention to a building’s aesthetic and sales value, but should also focus on the health factor in their building designs.
“They have to remember that in our country where the rain fall is high, certain designs of rooftops and gutters are not appropriate as they allow water to collect, providing the opportunity for mosquitoes, including the aedes mosquitoes, to breed,” he said.
“The developers should choose more practical designs that do not have such rooftops and nooks,” Dr Xavier said.
He pointed out that even a small amount of water collected over a few days could turn into a breeding ground for the mosquitoes.
Dr Xavier said the local councils should make sure that project plans would not allow for any place that could possibly become breeding places for mosquitoes.
According to Dr Xavier, a proposal with suggested designs has been sent to the local councils, urging them to include the health safety factor when approving building plans.
He said the move was part of the long-term efforts to tackle the dengue problems in the state.
“We have to take concerted measures involving everyone, including the architects and developers, as well as the residents and local authorities,” he said.
Dr Xavier said everyone should learn about and understand the breeding habits and life cycle of the aedes mosquitoes.
He said despite the annual outbreaks and regular government campaigns to raise awareness, many people still did not understand the mosquitoes life cycle and breeding habits.
Dr Xavier said some were not even aware of the risks involved in allowing mosquitoes to breed on their premises.
He said the dengue figure seemed to escalate each year during the past few years and the statistics for the first three months of this year revealed that it was high.
“But this is not unique to Malaysia, as similar patterns are seen throughout the world. This is a global trend and we see an increase in the number of dengue cases throughout the world, not only in Malaysia,” Dr Xavier said.
“Over the past few years, we have seen a constant increase in the number of reported cases. I think we have reached the peak, and the figure is predicted to go down after this,” he said.

According to a Health Ministry report, Selangor remains on the top of the chart with the highest number of reported dengue cases throughout the country.
From Jan 1 to March 7 this year, Selangor registered 5,703 dengue cases, with 22 of them fatal.
Kajang has the highest number in the state, with 955 cases and three deaths this year. Shah Alam is second with 949 cases and two deaths.
Although only 459 cases were reported in the Gombak district, seven people died from dengue this year.
Dr Xavier said about 40% of the reported cases were confirmed with dengue.
He said public apathy had been identified as one of the main reasons that contributed to the high dengue statistics.
“Most of the people do not clean and maintain their water tank, corridors and gutters at their houses, which become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Some don’t even dispose of their garbage properly which aggravates the situation,” Dr Xavier said.
“When our health inspectors visit their homes, they do not allow them in or shut their windows when they come to fog the area,” he said.
According to Dr Xavier, fogging alone is not the only solution in combating dengue. Fogging would only kill the adult mosquitoes and was effective for only 48 hours.
“These mosquitoes can go up to a few kilometres in radius.
“So, people not only have to make sure that their own places are clean but also have to ensure that everyone in the neighbourhood does so too,” he said.
Dr Xavier said in addition to constant inspections at premises, the State Health Department, local councils and state assemblymen had also distributed fliers and brochures to raise awareness on the issue and remind the people to play their part in combating the ailment.
He said some even took the initiative of printing the brochures in Indonesian and Tagalog so that the Indonesian and Filipino workers could understand the issue.
Dr Xavier said action was also being taken against the owners of abandoned and vacant premises if the aedes mosquitoes were found to be breeding in them.
“The existing local authority bylaws allow us to go into the vacant premises and carry out fogging exercise and bill the owner for the service. There is a standard operations procedure that we follow when conducting this exercise, accompanied by policemen,” he said.
“If we have to break a door, we will repair it before leaving the premises,” he said.
Dr Xavier said he had also proposed the use of a new type of chemical instead of the current water and diesel-based type being used in the fogging exercise.
According to Dr Xavier, the chemical does not have harmful contents and is more environment-friendly. It also comes in pleasant scents and could even be sprayed on the body. The chemical is now being used in Singapore.
Dr Xavier said another new idea was the use of genetically altered mosquitoes.
“It involves releasing these genetically-altered mosquitoes to a controlled environment.
“But I do not think that it is a very good idea,” he said.