The number of dengue cases have been steadily increasing over the years, but a recent report by the health department revealed that dengue cases nationwide showed an overall downward trend from February to May.
The number of dengue cases in week 19 (8th to 14th May) of 2016 have been reduced by 0.3% nationwide. 1,325 cases were reported, as opposed to 1,329 cases in the week before, said health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham via local news site New Straits Times.
Hisham continued:
In terms of deaths, there were 4 cases reported in the 19th week compared to 7 deaths the week before. 3 of the cases were recorded in Selangor and 1 in Pahang.
The total number of deaths recorded from January to 14th May 2016 have also decreased, as compared to the same period last year. 136 fatalities were recorded last year, compared to the 109 this year.
Dengue hotspots have also decreased, as 92 neighborhoods were affected last week, but only 75 this week. The hotspots were located in the states of Selangor, Johor, and Negri Sembilan. Outbreak areas also showed a 10.8% reduction.
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The accumulative number of cases nationwide might have decreased, but the number of cases in 7 states have increased, with Kedah reporting the most drastic change with an increase of 88.9% cases. Sabah comes second with 50%, followed by Perak with 28.1% and Johor with 25.2%. The cases in Kelantan increased by 14.3%, Sarawak by 12.7%, and Negri Sembilan by 4.5%.
A total cases of 46,856 were recorded from the period of January to 14th May, which is an increase of 8.6% compared to the same period last year.
In the same report, Hisham also advised the public to be vigilant against mosquito breeding grounds and to avoid mosquito bites by wearing long sleeves and using mosquito repellents. This is to avoid the Zika virus which has been plaguing 58 countries worldwide.
Singapore reported its first case of the Zika virus this Tuesday (17th May).
In January, The Star reported that there was a 50% jump in dengue deaths in 2015, with 336 deaths as compared to 215 in 2014.
Source: New Straits Times.
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