PUTRAJAYA: The number of dengue cases in the country is on the rise, with a 10 to 20 per cent increase for three straight weeks.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 12 states have shown an increase in the number of dengue cases compared to the weeks before.
The states are Selangor, Kelantan, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Perak, Sabah, Pahang, Melaka, Sarawak and Perlis, he said.
"Last week, between June 12 and 18, there were 1,803 dengue cases reported, compared to 1,585 cases the week before, with a 13.8 per cent increase," said Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement today.
From January to June 18, he said, there was a 0.3 per cent increase; with cumulative dengue cases totaling 53,988 compared to 53,823 cases for the same period last year.
On Zika cases, Dr Noor Hisham said Malaysia is continuing its surveillance for the virus via blood tests.
So far, he said, the National Public Health Laboratory and the Medical Research Institute had tested 502 blood samples up to June 18.
All samples, he added, tested negative for the Zika virus.