New tactic in dengue fight

BY LOH FOON FONG

 

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is trying outdoor spraying of a ­deltamethrin-based insecticide to kill Aedes mosquitoes in view of the record high number of dengue fever cases recently.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the number – more than 100,000 dengue cases with 215 deaths last year – was not only the highest the country had ever faced, but more dengue patients now had their brain and liver affected by the virus.

“We take the higher number of deaths seriously,” he said at a press conference before the ministry’s post-Cabinet meeting here yesterday.

He said the ministry had started the residual spraying since Feb 11 in four Selangor districts with a high number of dengue cases – Petaling, Hulu Langat, Gombak and Klang.

“The effectiveness of the spray will be assessed over two to three months and if proven to be effective, we will expand the use of the spray to other areas,” he said, giving an assurance that the active ingredient was not harmful to humans.

Currently used to control pests in agriculture and gardens, as well as on pets, deltamethrin is a synthetic compound that gives a broad-­spectrum effect, meaning that most species of mosquitoes and other insects will also be affected.

Dr Subramaniam said the active ingredient was expected to last for three months in the field, and mosquitoes coming into contact with the sprayed surface would die.

He also reiterated the importance of doctors diagnosing dengue early, saying that two companies had agreed to lower the cost of the rapid test kit by 40%.

On the dispensing separation issue, he said more dialogue was needed between the stakeholders before a decision could be made.

“We will not implement anything without consensus from the various parties.

“For now, the current system stays, and there is no need for ­various parties to release statements on a matter that has not been decided,” said Dr Subramaniam, who added that the new Pharmacy Bill was still under review by various quarters, including the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

On Tuesday, discussions were held with the Malaysian Medical Association and Malaysian Medical Council secretariat, with four more sessions with other groups sche­duled for March.

Discussions with other doctor groups will happen on March 4, with consumer groups in the second week, with ministries and government agencies in the third week, and with pharmacy associations and academia in the fourth week.

Well-maintained communities register highest dengue infections

the star
BY LOH FOON FONG

Published: Monday February 2, 2015 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Monday February 2, 2015 MYT 11:57:15 AM

Well-maintained communities register highest dengue infections

BY LOH FOON FONG

Dengue hotspots: Larvae was found in a small puddle of water on a garbage bag in an alley in Damansara Utama SS22.

 

Anti-dengue PSA

PETALING JAYA: The iDengue website, which tracks dengue hotspots nationwide, showed that even a well-maintained urban community such as SS22 here is among the top in the list of hotspots with 116 infections from June last year until Jan 24 this year.

At first glance, the area looked clean but its security committee member Michael Yea, 61, pointed out the plastic bottles and bags, and disposable polystyrene food containers filled with larvae hidden under bushes beside several houses.

Old tyres, dustbins filled with rain water, a house full of junk and containers and vacant houses were also identified as potential mosquito breeding spots.

“People are still generally not bothered and this is happening in many other neighbourhoods.

“If only each family can take care of their own backyard, this could reduce the number of infections,” he said.

Other top hotspots were Shah Alam Seksyen 7 Commercial Centre A with 214 cases in the last 158 days of outbreak (from Aug 20 to Jan 24) and Seksyen 7 (Flat A) with 90 cases in the last 172 days of outbreak (June 8 to Jan 24).

Larvae was found in empty plastic containers.

 

Hulu Langat 3/A-R Seksyen 3 Bandar Sri Putra had 71 cases in the last 136 days of outbreak (Sept 11 to Jan 24) and Gombak Kg Simpang 3 had 47 cases in the last 117 days of outbreak (Sept 30 to Jan 24).

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry said there were 8,502 dengue cases (Jan 1 to 24) nationwide compared with 5,141 cases in the same period last year.

It said 80% of dengue cases happened in home surroundings.

Yea, a retiree, said local councils must be more efficient as well.

He pointed to uncleared construction materials, garbage bags at the side of drains that had puddles of water and drains that were almost 70% filled with silt.

“Who is responsible for these?” he asked.

He also said the recently installed MBPJ dustbins at the playground were welcomed but without holes at the bottom of the bins to allow rain water to flow out, they could turn into mosquito breeding sites.

Those living in crowded neighbourhoods admitted keeping their community clean was a challenge.

Unemployed single mother Azian Abu Bakar, 30, who lived in a squatter area in Taman Datuk Seno in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, said she was not aware of any garbage collection service in her area.

“Most people living in my area burn their garbage as a way of disposal,” she said.

Azian’s son Adam Hakim, 13, was warded at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) on Jan 25.

Bangladeshi construction worker Dulal Farez, 31, who lived with seven other workers, said they tried their best to keep their place clean and his employers had also cleaned up the construction site following his infection.

“I don’t know where exactly I contracted dengue fever because none of my housemates or colleagues had dengue,” he said.

Drastic actions needed to reduce dengue cases

PETALING JAYA: The persistently high number of dengue cases in the past year are unlikely to go down unless drastic actions are taken.

Deputy Health director-general (public health) Datuk Lokman Hakim Sulaiman saidgotong-royong efforts on many occasions were poorly received by the public and were mainly participated by government agencies and staff.

Deputy Health director-general (medical) Datuk Dr S. Jeyaindran said the ministry had held dengue awareness and gotong-royong sessions but many residents had literally closed their doors at them when they arrived at their doorsteps.

While noting that conducive environment for mosquito breeding such as rain, hot and humid temperature, and serotype switch could aggravate the situation, there were many things the public could do to reduce the spread of infection and deaths.

Dr Lokman said the average Aedes breeding index remained high above threshold level of 1% throughout the year (ranging from 0.9% to 1.9%, while in some hotspot areas as high as 8%).

Mosquito breeding incidents were highest in empty lots (14.6%) and parks/recreational areas (8.0%) in 2014, he said.

“Littering is still a big problem in Malaysia with plastic bags, polystyrene cups and boxes which collect water found in public places,” said Dr Lokman.

Factory and construction sites were the next most common breeding places, with 6.3% and 5.8% respectively.

Asked if Malaysia should be more aggressive in enforcing the law like Singapore, he said Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was huge for a small country and they had 800 enforcement officers to inspect a country less than the size of Klang Valley while Malaysia had similar number of officers to cover the whole country.

Nevertheless, Dr Lokman pointed out that last year, more than five million premises were inspected and more than RM7mil in compounds had been issued but the mosquito breeding problem remained.

Playing host to mosquitoes

Playing host to mosquitoes

BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: Six per cent of construction sites inspected last year were found to harbour mosquito breeding habitats, said the Health Ministry.

“Of the 35,768 sites inspected, 2,123 were found to have mosquito breeding habitats,” said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

A total of 912 compounds with a cumulative amount of RM456,000 were issued, while a developer was charged in court before being fined a total of RM35,000.

Other than fines, Dr Noor Hisham said another 756 sites were asked to either treat, destroy or remove all existing or potential mosquito breeding habitats under Section 8 of the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act 1975.

The remaining 455 sites had been instructed to stop work temporarily for cleanups.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry was collaborating with other agencies for enforcement activities at construction sites.

The agencies include the Construction Industry Development Board, Department of Occupational Safety and Health, and Department of Public Works.

Dr Noor Hisham added that there were 108,698 dengue cases with 215 deaths last year compared to 43,346 cases with 92 deaths in 2013, an increase of 151% and 134%, respectively.

“The number of dengue cases reported for the first two weeks this year is still high,” he said, adding that each hospital had its own contingency plan to manage the shortage of beds during severe dengue outbreaks, he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said in the event of a surge in cases, additional beds, canvas beds or extension beds would be used in medical wards.

If all suitable areas in the medical wards had been occupied, the hospital would open up cubicles or utilise beds in non-medical wards with low bed-occupancy rates and first or second class wards to house dengue patients who are in stable condition, he added.

“A dengue management team will be responsible to review all dengue patients in non-medical wards to ensure their management is not compromised,” he said.

Suitable areas in hospitals would also be converted to a lounge for discharged patients waiting for family members to pick them up, with these areas equipped with comfortable seats and meals.

“With these measures, hospital beds would be made available as early as possible for any new dengue admissions,” he said.