SHAH ALAM, March 26 ­— The number of deaths in less than three months this year has surpassed that for the entire 2013 but it is not being considered an epidemic by the Health Ministry. 

Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the situation had not reached epidemic proportions as the majority of cases were confined to Selangor and Perak. 

“All these cases are at most, localised epidemics, but only to two states — Selangor and to a smaller degree Perak,” he told reporters yesterday after a walkabout in Seksyen 7 here.

He said the ministry was not calling it an epidemic as it would cause panic throughout the country.

The alarm bells over the country’s dengue situation went off last year as the numbers kept increasing with 215 fatalities and 108,698 cases.

This year, the number of dengue cases has reached 32,143 up to Tuesday.

The death toll up to Saturday has reached 98 in contrast to 54 last year.

There were 21,967 cases up to March 21 last year. 

Two years ago there were 92 deaths with 43,346 cases.

Despite the alarming figures, Dr Subramaniam said the ministry’s efforts may be showing some positive results after 2,006 dengue cases were reported from March 16 to 21, a decrease from the previous week’s 2,275 cases.

In fact, he said, if the ministry focused on Selangor alone, the overall number of cases could be significantly decreased, adding they were concentrating on areas with a “high index of activity” in relation to dengue cases.

He said the ministry was focusing on three approaches this year — environmental cleanliness, outdoor residual spraying, and working with paint companies to introduce an anti-mosquito wall paint. 

“Environmental cleanliness is important in overcoming dengue. We are looking for high-risk areas such as house compounds, open areas, parks and construction sites,” he said.

Dr Subramaniam also said outdoor residual spraying could reduce dengue cases by up to 95 per cent. The spraying, commonly done at dengue hotspots, could also be carried out in housing compounds if the owners allowed it.

He also said the anti-mosquito wall paint, which was researched by the Institute for Medical Research, contained insecticide deltamethrin that could kill mosquitoes coming into contact with the paint-coated walls. 

“Discussions between the ministry and paint companies are going well. If all goes well, it could be on sale by June or July,” he said, adding that the paint could prove to be an important tool in the fight against dengue.