KUALA LUMPUR: Dengue cases are on the rise, with a total of 32,535 cases being reported from January till March this year.
Last year 23,633 cases were reported during the same time period.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the number of cases started to increase after the end of Op Mega which was implemented to combat dengue in July last year.
"When we implemented Op Mega, we started to see improvements and the numbers of cases were reduced to 1800 cases reported weekly
"However we were not able to sustain this and as of February this year cases have started to increase to 3000 cases weekly," Muhyiddin said in a statement.
He noted that 101 deaths were also reported within the same time period this year.
Based on records by the Health Ministry, Selangor contributed to 59 percent of dengue cases in the nation.
Muhyiddin said the government is taking pro-active measures to combat the rise, with the Health Ministry focusing on enforcement activities through Ops Gempur.
"Through this operation we have managed to close down about 80 percent out of the 111 construction sites which were identified as dengue breeding grounds."
Muhyiddin had earlier chaired the special dengue taskforce meeting in parliament which was set up to combat the rising number of dengue cases in the country.