Dengue on the rise: More than 15,000 cases recorded as of February this year

More than 15,000 dengue cases have been recorded as of February 7 this year, showing an increase of 59 per cent compared to last year. ― File picKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 ― A total of 15,039 dengue cases have been recorded as of February 7 this year, an increase of 59 per cent or 5,586 cases, compared with 9,453 cases during the corresponding period last year.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a total of 44 deaths due to dengue were reported during the period this year, from 17 in the corresponding period last year.

“For 2015, there has been an increase in dengue cases every week, and during the fifth week (Feb 1 to 7), 3,037 dengue cases with eight fatalities were reported,” he said in a statement today.

He said two states showed an increase in the number of cases, compared with the previous and they were Pahang, with 40 cases (60.6 per cent) and Kedah, with four cases (19 per cent).

Based on analysis by the Health Ministry, he said, the breeding rate of aedes mosquito in 166 out of 269 hotspots was still more than one per cent.

“This situation is very conducive to the spread of the dengue virus,” he added. ― Bernama