More needs to be done to fight dengue, say experts

Star: NILAI: A gathering of the country’s top health practitioners here resulted in the Nilai Declaration of 2009, which, among others, calls on the Health Ministry and local councils to find a better way to fight the dengue scourge.
The 300 experts at the National Dengue Conference also called on the Government to encourage more scientific research into more effective ways to combat dengue.
The participants from universities, research insititutes and NGOs said environmentally-friendly ways must be found to get rid of the disease-carrying mosquito.
When closing the conference, Health deputy director-general (public health) Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat said the people needed to be more aware of the dangers of dengue fever as the number of cases kept on increasing.
“The ministry has formulated various strategies to fight dengue but we need the people to work with us if we are to reduce the number of cases,” he said.
Dr Ramlee said 26,446 cases and 64 fatalities were reported since January this year.
The ministry, through the National Dengue Strategic Plan (2009-2013), hoped to reduce the number of cases by 10% every year.
“Our target is that there should be no new cases in localities two weeks after the first case is reported. If there is a new case, it means that our efforts to reduce the number of cases in that locality has failed,” he said.
Asked if the authorities were working towards producing a vaccine for dengue, Dr Ramlee said such efforts were ongoing.
“I have been told that a vaccine manufacturer from the West is conducting clinical trials in Singapore and Vietnam.
“We do not know if the vaccine will work. It can take between five and 10 years before a proper vaccine can be produced,” he said.
Dr Ramlee said the most effective way for the time being was for the people to treat the menace seriously and to constantly clear potential mosquito-breeding grounds.