Subra: Lack of sanitisation and unhygienic public activities have caused the spread of vector-borne diseases.

PUTRAJAYA: Lack of sanitisation and unhygienic public activities have caused the spread of vector-borne diseases.
Health Minister Datuk Seri S Subramaniam (pix) said an environment that is not sanitised and stagnant water sources have become the contributing factors in the spread of dengue, malaria, chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis in the country.
This could be seen in the water shortage issues where although Malaysia has many water resources, the supplies are still affected due to high demand, he said.
"This situation arises following increased population as well as various activities that are causing pollution to the existing water resources," he said when opening the National Environmental Health Action Plan conference here today.
He added living in this kind of environment and unhygienic lifestyle have caused high risks especially among young people.
He noted that just in one week there have been five fatalities due to dengue and the victims were mostly in their 20s.
The issue of health and environment are interdependent and can influence each other, he said.
Similarly he noted that environmental health and development are interdependent as well.
He said poorly planned development can cause extreme health hazards like air, water, food, soil and chemical pollution.
These eventually causes health risks like breathing and cardiovascular problems, physiological and neurological issues as well as increase in various types of cancers, he said, adding they increase the rates of disabilities, morbidities and mortalities.