PETALING JAYA: Public awareness on dengue has taken a backseat since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, says Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

       DBKL said its Health and Environment Department and the Health Ministry (MOH) will, however, continue to keep it the focus of public attention through various means, including social media.

       In the 11th epidemiological week (Epid Week 11) of 2022 (or March 13-19) there were 7,364 dengue cases in Malaysia, compared to 6,560 in the same period last year.

       “This is an increase of 804 cases (12.3%). There were three deaths recorded up to Epid Week 11, which is the same as in 2021.

       “In Kuala Lumpur, 602 cases of dengue were reported up to Epid Week 11, compared with 724 cases (in the same period) last year, a decrease of 102 cases (16.9%),” DBKL said in a statement yesterday.

       DBKL said its Health and Environment Department will take several measures to keep dengue under control, including house-to-house inspections and destroying breeding grounds, it added.

       “We will also use larvicide in the form of liquid, capsule or sprays to kill mosquito larvae.

       “In order to curb the spread of dengue in outbreak areas, thermal spraying or fogging would also be used to kill adult mosquitoes,” said DBKL.

       It added that health campaigns will also be stepped up in epidemic areas to create awareness and remind the local community to carry out measures to prevent the transmission of dengue fever.

       There were 400 cases of dengue reported in Selangor in Epid Week 11, an increase of eight (2%) compared to the 392 cases reported in the Epid Week 10.

       “A total of 5,003 cases of dengue fever were reported in Epid Week 11, an increase of 36.5% (1,337 cases) compared with the same week last year,” said the Selangor Health Department in an update posted on its website.

       No deaths were reported during this period, however.

       Universiti Malaya virologist Prof Dr Sazaly Abu Bakar said the movement of people is a contributing factor in the rise in cases.

       He said during the movement control order, people were restricted in terms of where they could go and time spent outdoors.

       “With people out and about now, more are getting infected.

       “At the end of 2019, we recorded a total of 130,101 dengue cases (an increase of 60% compared to 2018), with Selangor always having the most number of cases.

       “So, it is important for us to be aware of dengue and to take measures to protect ourselves during this Covid-19 period,” he said, adding that the pandemic had pushed dengue to the back of most people’s minds.