Drastic drop in dengue cases in Malaysia this year - Health Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Dengue cases in all states have recorded a drop of between 20 and 94 per cent this year compared to last year, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

From January to Aug 6, 2021, a total of 16,565 dengue cases were reported compared to 63,988 in the same period in 2020, which is a reduction of 47,423 cases or 74.1 per cent.

"The average weekly dengue cases reported so far is 534 cases a week, compared to 1,700 a week in 2020 and 2,500 a week in 2019.

"The number of deaths due to dengue till today stands at 10, compared to 106 in the same period last year, a reduction of 96 deaths (90.6 per cent)," he said in a statement today.

Dr Adham said although the country was struggling with COVID-19, the prevention and control of infectious diseases, including dengue, have not been neglected as such oversight would cause all gains made to be lost in an instant.

He explained that things would be more complicated if the country faced another public health threat like dengue as that would put additional pressure on health frontliners.

According to Dr Adham, there is no effective vaccine to protect people against being infected with dengue as yet and, as such, methods that have been proven to be effective against it must be continued.

Therefore, full commitment and cooperation from local residents, local authorities, companies, non-governmental organisations and volunteers from the Communication for Behavioural Impact (Combi) programme were greatly needed to tackle the issue of cleanliness, especially in residential and public areas.

-- BERNAMA