In just a week, the country recorded almost 3,000 cases of dengue and 1,000 of them came from Selangor.
Citing the poor garbage collection as one of the reasons for the spike in cases, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the Petaling district fared the worst.
“Selangor is an urban area. The local government must ensure that its enforcement covers all the areas including squatter colonies,” Bernama quoted him as saying.
Last year, Malaysia recorded triple the number of deaths compared to 2013 with an average of 250 cases of dengue fever reported daily.
More recently, the government revealed that the spike in dengue cases have caused public hospitals to run out of beds, forcing authorities to look at surgical or orthopaedic wards as options.
As of January 17, the number of dengue cases has increased to 2,913 cases, up 10.6 per cent from 2,633 cases on January 10.
The good news, however, is that by June people can expect to see dengue vaccines sold in stores. In December, the ministry announced that it was now conducting clinical tests to find out more about its long term use.
