SHAH ALAM, Feb 16 — Selangor is expected to face a 150 per cent spike in dengue fever cases this year or next year, if the breeding sites of Aedes mosquitoes are not dealt with seriously by the community.
State executive councillor for public health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said as of February 11, which is the sixth Epidemiological Week (ME), a total of 6,870 cases were recorded, an increase of 141.4 per cent compared with the same period, last year.
“With the number of dengue cases close to 40,000 last year, just imagine (spike in cases in 2024) if it is not contained,” she told a press conference here today.
Based on the dengue fever cycle that occurs in Malaysia over a period of 20 years, the country is expected to experience a steep rise in dengue cases every four to five years.
“It is expected that a steep rise in cases will occur in 2023 or 2024 after the highest dengue outbreak in 2019,” Dr Siti Mariah said, adding that 510 dengue outbreak localities were detected in the state in the sixth ME, with an increase of 8.5 per cent compared with 470 localities recorded in the previous week.
During the period, Petaling recorded the highest number of localities at 203, followed by Hulu Langat (120), Klang (82) and Gombak (69).
She said the state government, in collaboration with the Selangor Health Department (JKNS) and relevant agencies, implemented integrated dengue operations with nearly RM1 million in allocation.
The operations commenced yesterday and will run until March 22, with a focus on the four districts with the highest cumulative dengue cases.
— Bernama
