SHAH ALAM, 4 Aug: The people have been encouraged to play a proactive role with the State Government in efforts to ensure the outbreak of dengue in Selangor, which recorded the highest number of cases, to be addressed more effectively.
The Executive Councillor for Health, Dr Daroyah Alwi, said that the Selangor Government has always been actively carrying out control measures and Aedes eradication through various programmes and awareness campaigns, however is of the opinion that it should receive the support of the local community.
She said that the local authorities, together with the State Department of Health, have been directed to implement concerted effort and provide education on the dangers of dengue through the installations of buntings and the distribution of flyers.
“Yes, Selangor has recorded the highest cases, but because of the population density and urbanisation of the people in this state, the issue of garbage maintenance and cleanliness makes it easy for Aedes to breed.
“The attitude of the society of being less sensitive to some extent has contributed to these problems despite various programmes being implemented to control the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes,” she told Selangor Kini.
Daroyah said that the State Government has directed all local authorities to enter schools and provide information and talks to students, including a number of kindergartens in the state.
She said that weekly meetings have been implemented to ensure that local authorities carry out dengue control and prevention programmes to ensure that the problem can be solved.
We have also implemented gotong-royong programmes, established the Combi squad and various other efforts. In fact, there are meetings each week to ensure that local authorities implement dengue control and prevention programmes,” she said.
As of July 31, the country recorded 54,152 cases and 96 deaths due to dengue while from the amount over 30 victims were from Selangor.
Dengue cases saw an increase of 256 percent compared to the same period last year.
NS