An astounding 800% increase in dengue cases have been reported in the month of January in the Subang Jaya municipality area compared to the previous year, including areas such as Subang Jaya and Puchong.
971 cases were reported in January, compared to the 95 cases reported during the corresponding period in 2012 and 108 cases in 2013, said MPSJ president Datuk Asmawi Kasbi.
He pointed out indiscriminate littering, especially in high-rise residential areas, resulting in the shocking increase.
Out of all the cases, 879 had tested positive, with 45 dengue hotspots with uncontrolled outbreaks and 37 localities with controlled outbreaks.
“The increase is not only in MPSJ, other local councils in Selangor are experiencing the same increase.
“The hotspots are usually located at multiple-storey residences where water had collected due to drains and awnings being clogged by rubbish,” said Asmawi.
Besides fogging, other steps taken to handle the dengue epidemic was larvaciding, awareness campaigns, search and destroying of mosquito breeding grounds and using the Toxorhynchites (Toxo) mosquitoes as a biological technique.
MPSJ health department director Dr Roslan Mohamed Hussin said aside from setting up information booths to educate the public on the issue, the council was also organising campaigns in schools.
Owners of premises found to be breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito would be compounded immediately, with a maximum fine of RM500, he said.
For some precautionary measures and a list of dengue fever symptoms, check out this article.
[Source]
