BALIK PULAU, May 17 — A total of 13,733 dengue cases were reported in Penang between January and yesterday, which was an increase of 178 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said so far, three fatal cases were reported, that is, one case in the North-East district and two cases in Central Seberang Perai.
“The people must not be too dependent on fogging because this is only a temporary measure and will only kill the adult mosquitoes. Members of the public must take their own initiative to destroy the mosquito breeding areas,” he told reporters when observing the 'War Against Aedes' programme at the Balik Pulau Parliamentary Level, here today.
The ‘gotong-royong’ programme was participated by more than 600 villagers including 330 trainees from the National Service Training Programme from the White Camp Resort, Balik Pulau.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya suggested that the people spent some time daily to inspect stagnant water especially in hidden areas because mosquito larvae could breed in water that was less than five milimetres deep and could last up to six months if not destroyed.
He said that on average, 1,200 dengue cases were reported nationwide each week compared with 2,000 cases last year. — Bernama
No comments:
Post a Comment