Dengue cases spike due to current wet weather

The Star Online
PETALING JAYA: Dengue cases went up by 19% the past week to 1,680 cases compared to the previous week (1,408) - the highest recorded over 10 years - mainly due to the wet weather.

Selangor registered the largest increase with 1,142 cases (272 cases the previous week).

The cumulative total of reported cases of dengue fever nationwide from January to Oct 26 is 28,707 cases, a 58% increase from the same period last year (17,847), the Health Ministry said in a statement.

It noted that Selangor saw a significant upswing in cases since June, with 323 of the 408 current outbreak areas found in the state.

Out of the outbreak areas, 54 were identified as high-risk hotspots - 26 in the Petaling district, 19 in Hulu Langat, eight in Gombak and one in Sepang.

The rest of the outbreak areas nationwide were in Johor (37) and KL-Putrajaya (16), with the rest spread out over the other remaining states.

Johor saw 167 cases of dengue last week, while Perak had 64.

Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya remained steady over the last two weeks with 60 cases.

However, some states had fewer cases last week than the previous, such as Malacca (71 from 92) and Kelantan (33 from 38).

The total cumulative mortality rate of dengue so far is 60 deaths, up from 29 for the same period last year.

In the statement, Health Ministry deputy director (Public Health) Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman urged the people to cooperate with relevant agencies to destroy the Aedes mosquito breeding areas.

“With the current rainy season, a lot of breeding places for Aedes mosquitoes are created. It’s important for individuals and communities to take action,” he said, adding that popular breeding places were potted plants, plastic bags, empty tin cans, rubbish bins, buckets, drains and carelessly discarded helmets.

“The Ministry will continue improving inspections and enforcing the law.”

The Health Ministry has previously expressed concern over the high number of dengue cases reported nationwide, with over 900 cases detected every week this year.

The figure has more than doubled compared to last year’s weekly average of 400 cases.