Malaysia says dengue fever is nearing epidemic

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Malaysia has warned that dengue fever is nearing an epidemic and joined neighbour Singapore in declaring war on the deadly mosquito-borne virus.

Malaysians reported 752 cases of dengue fever last week, 50 percent more than were reported in the last week of August, triggering emergency measures to prevent the disease reaching epidemic proportions, a senior health official said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Chua Soi Lek told local media 1,000 reported cases per week would constitute an epidemic. 

"If this trend continues, it will not be long before it reaches 1,000 cases and an epidemic is declared,” he was quoted as saying.

The health ministry is redeploying mosquito “search and destroy” teams nationwide to focus on hot spots in mainly urban areas in the south, northwest and around the capital, Kuala Lumpur, the deputy director of disease control told Reuters.

“We are mobilising our people from the less-priority areas to the higher-priority areas,” Dr Marzukhi Md Isa said, naming the worst-affected areas as the southern city of Johor Baru, the tourist island of Penang, central Selangor state and the capital.

A total of 70 people have died in Malaysia of dengue fever so far this year, slightly more than the 68 deaths reported for the same period last year, but the number of reported cases is running 25 percent ahead of 2004, health ministry figures show.

An endemic viral disease in the tropics, dengue is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Symptoms include fever, severe headache, joint and muscular pains, vomiting and rashes.

A 26-year-old woman and her unborn twins became the latest victims of Malaysia’s outbreak last weekend. In all of 2004, there were 102 deaths and 35,926 reported cases, Dr Marzukhi said.

Singapore, an island lying at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia, is fighting its worst dengue epidemic.

With a population a fifth the size of Malaysia, Singapore had 10,237 cases up to September 17, surpassing the 9,459 incidents recorded in 2004, when dengue infections hit a 10-year high.

The scale of the outbreak in a city known for its clean streets and modern sanitation has baffled Singapore’s government and led to sweeping measures to kill mosquitoes.

In Malaysia, teams are using anti-mosquito “fogging” sprays around areas where dengue has been reported and checking homes and construction sites for pools of water where mosquitoes could be breeding. “We have even closed construction sites which have massive breeding grounds,” Dr Marzukhi said. 

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