Employers who employ foreign workers are urged to send them for medical checkup to screen their health status so as to prevent the risk or spread of contagious diseases.

State health, non-Islamic affairs, Chinese new villages, public transportation and national integration committees chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said such screening was important to avoid a repeat of the spread of Malaria at the Orang Asli Pos Kemar in Gerik.

"The regular movement of foreign workers at construction sites when carrying out their duties could be a reason for the spread of diseases," he told reporters after chairing a State Environmental Health Action Plan meeting, here today.

Malaria from the Plasmodium vivax (P.vivax) species was first detected in Pos Kemar on Nov 16, involving three residents of Kampung Senangit.

Subsequently, 137 people were warded at the Gerik and Kuala Kangsar hospitals for malaria from a total of 4,189 Pos Kemar residents examined.

Dr Mah said apart from Malaria, 3,777 dengue cases were reported throughout last year compared with 9,466 cases for the same period in 2015.

"During the period there were 10 fatal cases compared with 25 in 2015," he said. - BERNAMA