PUTRAJAYA, June 4 — While the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysians should also guard against contracting dengue, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
The Health director-general urged the public to use their time at home under the current movement control order (MCO) in the battle against the coronavirus to also rid their surroundings of viable breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito — the main carrier of dengue.
He said that while dengue statistics from January to May had dropped 11.7 per cent to 46,938 cases, compared to the same period last year, there had been a rise in the number of deaths.
“However, this year there were 82 dengue-related deaths, compared to 81 deaths last year,” he said.
A total of 53,187 dengue cases were recorded between January and May 2019.
As the disease is endemic to Malaysia, Dr Noor Hisham advised the public to maintain the cleanliness of their homes and community whenever possible.
“Even though the MCO is still in effect, at least you can clean your homes and gardens. That is something doable, so we hope that continues.
“One should not forget about dengue, as its threat is always there. Nonetheless, we have not seen a surge of cases, otherwise an action plan would have been put in place,” he said.
