BAU: Every level of society has been urged to constantly step up efforts on eradicating the aedes mosquito, especially with the state moving into an endemic phase following he Covid-19 pandemic.
Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Henry Harry Jinep said dengue was a vector-borne disease in several ASEAN countries.
“Therefore, self-hygiene against infectious diseases such as dengue fever needs to be further strengthened in the community.
“The ASEAN Dengue Day celebration which is celebrated every June 15 creates a platform for advocacy to various parties to continue efforts to eradicate dengue in a continuous and integrated manner.
“By running programmes such as gotong-royong, we will be able to curb the increase in cases of dengue fever, as well as inculcate the community’s noble valueson environmental cleanliness,” he said.
He said this when officiating at the state-level Gotong-Royong Mega Perangi Aedes Kebangsaan & ASEAN Dengue Day Celebration here at Dewan Suarah Bau, today.
Thus, he said large scale gotong-royong activities throughout the state must be implemented immediately to curb outbreaks and deaths from dengue.
After the ceremony, he surveyed the town, which has showed a satisfactory level of cleanliness, then called for maintaining a clean environment for the common good.
Meanwhile, Sarawak State Health Department Senior Principal Assistant Director Dr Irwilla Ibrahim revealed the statistics of dengue cases reported in Sarawak from January to June this year.
“A total of 269 cases were recorded this year, compared to 210 cases for the same period last year.
“It shows an increase of 28 per cent for the year with one case of death recorded due to dengue in Sibu division.
“Meanwhile, Kuching recorded a total of 46 cases of dengue, which is a double increase compared to the same period last year. However, no deaths were reported,” she said.
Bau district recorded 16 cases compared to no cases during the same period last year.
Dr Irwilla said here, two outbreak localities have been reported, namely in Pasar Bau and in Kampung Peros involving 14 cases in 2021. The outbreak in Pasar Bau occurred at the end of 2021 and continued until the beginning of 2022.
“The authorities also issued a total of 500 compounds throughout Sarawak as a measure to prevent the spread of dengue.
“Therefore, people are advised that those who have symptoms such as fever, headaches, stomach aches, diarrhea, etc. go to seek immediate treatment at the nearest health facility to prevent contracting dengue fever,” she added.
