SHAH ALAM, August 24: The ‘leptospirosis’ disease or rat urine disease can be avoided if society prioritises cleanliness and hygiene, said Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
Describing it as a serious matter, the Chief Minister said that the problem must be addressed immediately because the breeding of rats can cause the disease to spread widely.
He said that the State Government is undertaking gotong royong (mutual cooperation) programmes and campaigns to control rat breeding to improve hygiene in Selangor.
He said, this is being done in collaboration with the Ministry of Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government (KKBPKT) and 12 local authorities in the state.
“The aim is to reduce the number of stray rats and as a result, we want to prevent this from happening at business premises, especially food and residential premises,” he said.
He said this after the launch of the Selangor Level Premier Gotong Royong Programme here this morning.
It was attended by the Deputy Secretary General (Policy Division) of the KKBPKT, Yong Bun Fou; the Deputy Director General of Health (Public Health) in the Ministry of health, Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman, and the Shah Alam Mayor, Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Ali, as well as about 200 attendees.
According to the report by the Ministry of Health, a total of 7,701 cases of leptospirosis has been recorded in the country since year 2011 till June 1, 2013, with 121 deaths.
Selangor recorded 260 cases with nine deaths since last year till May.
Abdul Khalid said that hygiene culture is important and should be a priority to have good health, thereby helping in the prevention of the disease which can be fatal.
He also urged the people to emulate countries like Japan and Korea, where the people place importance in hygiene.