Final warning for doctors to act on dengue cases

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry is getting tough with doctors who have stubbornly refused to alert authorities to dengue cases.
Frustrated at being ignored by private hospitals and clinics, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai warned yesterday that those who fail to report dengue cases would be slapped with a compound fine of RM5,000.
“There will be no more warnings after this. We have been sending circulars to them on a regular basis and we have identified the clinics and hospitals that have not reported the cases. Today, we will send out the circular for the last time,” Liow said.
Liow said the clinics and hospitals had to inform district or state health departments immediately so that fogging could be carried out in the affected areas.
“If they don’t inform us, we cannot take action and dengue will spread. It is against the law not to inform us.”
The Health Department will also take a tough stand against owners of premises found to have Aedes mosquito breeding grounds.
Liow said even residential areas, schools and construction sites found to contain Aedes mosquito breeding grounds would be fined.
Although the number of cases in the past week had dropped from 719 to 630, Liow said it was only temporary due to the hot weather.
“Mosquito eggs can withstand the dry weather and last up to six months and hatch when it rains. So getting rid of the breeding grounds has to be done now.”
Forty-six “dengue hotspots” have been identified nationwide.
Selangor had the highest number of cases — 11,948 incidents so far this year, compared with 7,390 cases during the same period last year.
Selangor accounted for 39 of the 57 deaths this year.
Liow, who launched an antidengue campaign at Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Tsun Jin in Kampung Pandan yesterday, said he would work with the Education Ministry to enforce the Communication for Behavioural Impact (Combi) programme in all schools.
Combi is a voluntary programme where students clean up their school premises to prevent Aedes mosquito from breeding.
With the school programme running, Liow said Combi may be introduced at construction areas.
“We have received complaints that construction areas have many breeding grounds, so we are going to educate the workers so they know their role in keeping their workplace safe from the disease.”
Liow also launched a new television advertisement campaign, which began airing yesterday, to get the people more involved in the fight against dengue.