Melaka records 530 dengue cases
He said of this number there were 347 cases in Melaka Tengah, Jasin (124 cases) and Alor Gajah (59 cases).
'During this period, 16 dengue outbreaks were reported and the state government cannot remain silent as dengue fever cases pose a threat to Melakans.
'All clean-up steps including gotong-royong programmes are very important in breaking the breeding chain of the Aedes mosquitoes,' he told reporters after officiating the Melaka-level Mega Gotong-Royong to Combat Aedes Programme, held in conjunction with the Wakil Rakyat Untuk Rakyat (WRUR) programme for the Sungai Udang state assembly, at the Desa Tun Razak Malaysian Armed Forces Quarters in Sungai Udang here today.
The event was also attended by the state assembly coordinator, who is also the senior state executive councillor for Housing, Local Government, Climate Change, Drainage and Disaster Management Datuk Rais Yasin.
Elaborating further, Ab Rauf said all community leaders, state assemblymen, and local authorities (PBTs) are urged to intensify phased gotong-royong programmes in their respective areas every month.
He said, for example, this effort can be carried out through the implementation of the 'One Hour Every Saturday, Take Time to Find and Destroy Aedes Mosquito Breeding Places' campaign, which is also organised by the state Health Department as a collective effort to eradicate the dengue threat at its roots.
'Melaka has proven its success in various aspects such as investment, tourism and education...now we must also prove our success as a clean, healthy and dengue-free state,' he also said.
He added that maintaining cleanliness and environmental health is everyone's responsibility and not just the responsibility of authorities like the PBTs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Anwar wants health ministry to speed up doctor hiring
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government will fast-track the filling of 4,352 permanent positions for government doctors this year. (Freepik pic) PETALING JAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has instructed the health ministry to expedite the filling of more than 4,000 permanent government doctor positions, according to government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil. Fahmi, who is also the communications minister, said Anwar raised the matter at today's Cabinet meeting, expressing concern that the hiring process was moving too slowly. 'Initially, the health ministry expected most of the positions to be filled by November, but the prime minister felt that timeline was too drawn-out. As a result, the ministry has been asked to fast-track the process. 'There is an urgent need to fill these vacancies. It's not a small number,' Fahmi told a press conference at the communications ministry in Putrajaya today. He said health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has given his commitment to accelerate and simplify the recruitment process without compromising necessary procedures. On Tuesday, Anwar, while announcing new initiatives for the people, said the government would fast-track the filling of 4,352 permanent positions for government doctors this year, including contract-appointed medical officers. He said the move was driven by the critical need for more doctors in the healthcare sector. The health ministry is also preparing a paper for the Cabinet to address the ongoing nationwide shortage of healthcare personnel.
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
China reports record wave of mosquito-borne chikungunya virus
Guangdong province has launched stricter anti-mosquito measures, including urging residents to clear stagnant water. -- PHOTO: UNSPLASH via The Straits Times/ANN BEIJING (Bloomberg): A city in China's southern industrial hub has recorded 3,195 chikungunya cases so far this month, the country's biggest outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus since it first emerged in the mainland nearly two decades ago. Foshan city - in Guangdong Province, just north of Hong Kong - first reported an imported chikungunya case earlier in July, China's national broadcaster CCTV said, citing briefings from local authorities. Infections have soared by more than 2,700 in the past week alone. While Chinese health officials have yet to explain what's behind the outbreak, Guangdong has launched stricter anti-mosquito measures, including urging residents to clear stagnant water and make sure drainage channels remain unobstructed. Chikungunya, first identified in 1952 in Tanzania, is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, the World Health Organization says. The virus causes fever and severe joint pain, and other symptoms can include headaches, muscle pain, vomiting and fatigue. The outbreak in Guangdong, an often hot and humid area of southern China, is the latest sign that tropical diseases - from dengue to malaria and zika - are expanding their reach, as climate change lets mosquitoes live in new territories that have become warmer and wetter. Increased international travel and low population immunity are also helping the spread. An explosion in cases in the Indian Ocean since the start of 2025 has sparked concerns of a spread to other countries, leading the WHO to issue an urgent call to action this week, Reuters reported. France and Italy, thousands of miles from the region, have both found locally-acquired chikungunya cases this year. "The surge in chikungunya cases is likely due to favorable climatic conditions that allow blooms of the Aedes mosquito population,' said Robert Jones, Assistant Professor in the Department of Disease Control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. "These are aggressive, day-biting mosquitoes that thrive in warm, wet conditions.' More than five billion people live in areas across 119 countries at risk from chikungunya, the WHO told reporters in Geneva, Reuters said. Some 220,000 cases and 80 related deaths have been reported in 14 countries and territories globally so far this year, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. China recorded its first chikungunya case in 2008, an imported infection detected at an airport in Guangdong. The first locally transmitted cases - infecting 253 people - were reported in the province two years later. Since then, only sporadic cases have been found, in Yunnan and Fujian provinces. Globally, population susceptibility is likely elevated in areas where chikungunya outbreaks haven't tended to occur, said Patricia Gallego Delgado, Associate Director at London-based disease forecasting firm Airfinity Ltd. The wave is "attributable to lower levels of population immunity as individuals in these regions may have had limited or no prior exposure to the virus,' she said. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Malay Mail
Anwar: Government to fill 4,352 healthcare vacancies within 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — The government will expedite the filling of 4,352 positions at healthcare facilities this year, including contract appointments for doctors, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced today. He said the move comes in response to the urgent needs within the country's healthcare sector. 'There have been complaints about critical vacancies, particularly involving doctors. 'So we've decided that while services must improve, there is also a clear need to bring in new and contract doctors,' he said. Anwar made the remarks during a special announcement, broadcast live across major television channels and social media platforms. — Bernama
