GOMBAK: Dengue cases nationwide increased by 139% from January to July 2 this year compared with the same period last year, said the Health Minister as she announced a new clean-up campaign.
Dr Zaliha Mustafa said there were 59,057 dengue cases recorded nationwide, up from 24,743 cases in the corresponding period last year.
Selangor alone saw a 93% increase in cases with 29,382 recorded in that period compared with 15,207 cases last year, she added.
There were also 40 dengue-related deaths nationwide, a 122.22% increase from 18 deaths previously.
“Selangor recorded seven deaths from dengue fever complications,” she said in her speech at the launch of the maiden Madani Afiat programme here yesterday.
At the event, Dr Zaliha also launched the One Hour Malaysia Clean Up programme aimed at ensuring the cleanliness of surroundings as well as removing potential Aedes mosquito breeding grounds.
“This aims to engage the public in communal cleaning activities on the fourth Saturday of each month,” she said.
In conjunction with the ministry’s Gotong-Royong Mega 1.0 Perangi Aedes programme, which is held twice yearly, Dr Zaliha said the public, especially those living in Selangor, should also spend 10 minutes every week to destroy all potential Aedes breeding grounds on their premises.
“Target locations are residential areas, workplaces and educational institutions, with activities done based on the community’s own settings,” she added.
On the Madani Afiat programme, Dr Zaliha said it was aimed at bridging the gap between leaders and the public through the context of public health.
“This involves house visits by the Health Ministry leadership, community leaders and healthcare teams.
“It also provides related agencies with the opportunity to join the Health Ministry in conducting localised activities as a means of spreading information on existing health programmes for target groups,” she said.
The programme was also aimed at raising public awareness on the need to conduct health screenings to detect and prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“This is in line with the health reforms stated in the Health White Paper,” she added.
Also present at the function was Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, who told reporters that the state administration was looking into fine-tuning the role that local authorities could play in public health.
“Perhaps in two years, we will make it compulsory for all local authorities to have a doctor with expertise in public health.
“Collaborations between local authorities and the state health department will also create better networking alongside tackling issues apart from dengue, such as NCDs,” he said.
Changing mindsets were also crucial when it came to ensuring cleaner surroundings, Amirudin added.
“It’s not as simple as organising a communal cleaning event. Concurrent efforts are needed by the ministry and relevant communities.
“The public must also participate. We should have the same attitude towards epidemics like dengue as we did with Covid-19,” he said.
