KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 74,335 cases of dengue fever were reported nationwide compared to 43,3456 cases for the same period last year, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said it was the highest number of cases reported compared to previous years.
He said 143 dengue deaths were reported in the country for the first nine months of this year compared to 92 deaths recorded for the same period last year.
Subramaniam said to address the dengue situation in the country, the ministry had established a National Action Plan Committee on Dengue 2014 since July this year to take action for prevention and control of the disease.
"The plan will be implemented in three states that contribute the highest dengue cases which were Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan, and were extended to Kelantan beginning Aug 17.
“The plan was implemented in a period of two months in the four states,” he told Datuk Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir (BN-Kulim Bandar Baharu).
He added that the action plan was an integrated plan of dengue prevention and control between the ministry and six other ministries including the Education Ministry, Human Resource Ministry, Works Ministry and the Communication and Multimedia Ministry.
In addition, he said, the state government and local authorities (PBT) should also play an important role in the efforts to address the epidemic in this country.
Subramaniam said the main thing that needs to be addressed was to ensure the management of solid waste including domestic waste, bulk and industrial in all states were managed efficiently.
“Illegal dumping places should be eliminated and proper dumping place should be provided adequately.
“This is to avoid piles of garbage and polluting the environment as well as becoming a breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes,” he said.