13.8% drop in dengue cases in Selangor

SHAH ALAM: Dengue cases in Selangor saw a marked reduction as compared to the same period last year, indicating success in the state government's efforts to combat aedes mosquitoes.
State executive councillor for health Daroyah Alwi (PKR-Sementa) (pix) said dengue cases now stands at 46,034 cases as at Oct 29 (43rd week of the year).
"This shows a reduction of 7,392 cases or 13.8% from 53,428 cases in the same period last year.
"As for the 43rd week of the year, we have recorded 602 cases and it is the lowest number of cases in a week throughout 2016," Daroyah told the state assembly today.
She said deaths from dengue fever in Selangor has also reduced by 37% or from 109 to 69 as compared to the same period last year.
Additionally, Daroyah said the death rate of dengue patients in the state is 0.15%, which is lower than the national death rate of dengue patients of 0.23%.
"These indicators show success from measures taken by the Selangor state government to combat aedes mosquitoes," she said.
Daroyah said such measures include having regular bi-weekly or weekly meetings with relevant authorities so hot spots, when identified, can be quickly eradicated.
She said this involved forming a Dengue Action Unit, which will fog and clean the area and its surroundings to eliminate aedes mosquitoes and its breeding grounds.
Daroyah was answering an oral question by Datuk Mohd Shamsudin Lias (BN-Sungai Burong), who asked for the amount of funds allocated to combat dengue and how successful are they.
Shamsudin commended the reduction and the increased allocation to fight dengue under the state's Budget 2017 but said the amount is still high.
He then asked in a supplementary question what will the state government do to keep dengue cases to a minimum.
Daroyah replied that the Dengue Action Units mentioned earlier are the ones who are responsible for it, and their task, when sent to a hotspot, is to reduce cases to 0.