Ong Han Sean The Star 22 Aug 10;
BENTONG: Global warming and changing weather patterns appear to have led to an “alarming” rise in dengue cases and deaths in the region.
“Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand are seeing an increase in dengue cases, as well. This could be due to the rainy season and global warming.
"The changing weather appears to cause the mosquitoes to breed faster," he said.
As a result, public cooperation was vital in the fight against the disease, he said.
“The ministry cannot fight this war alone. We need the concerted effort of everyone to reduce the number of dengue deaths,” he said.
The death toll from dengue cases this year, as of Sunday, had already hit 100 compared to 67 last year, said Liow.
“During the same period last year, there were 29,183 reported cases. This year, we’re already up to 31,375 cases. The situation now is really alarming,” he told reporters after launching the second Bentong Health Carnival Sunday.
He urged the public to give its full cooperation to the ministry’s gotong-royong programmes to combat dengue.
Dengue fever death toll reaches 100
Halimatul Hamid New Straits Times 23 Aug 10;
BENTONG: The health minister has raised the alarm bells on dengue fever after receiving news of the 100th death of the year.
Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the latest case had raised the number of dengue cases to 31,375. The victim was a 46-year-old man from Kota Baru.
"These are critical times. The total number of deaths has increased by 40 per cent this year compared with the corresponding period last year.
"We reported 29,183 cases with 67 deaths last year," he said at the Bentong Health Carnival yesterday.
Liow urged the public to give its fullest cooperation in gotong-royong programmes, including following the advice of the ministry.
"The ministry has declared a war against dengue, but we cannot do it alone.
"There is a need for concerted effort from all parties."
Liow said he had prepared a paper to inform the cabinet of the worsening situation.
He said the rising trend was also faced by countries like Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam due to the rainy season and global warming.
"An increase of one degree in world temperature will have a double effect on the breeding of mosquitoes," stressed Liow.
During the health carnival, Liow gave away spectacles sponsored by Yayasan Tun Rahah to 86 primary and secondary students in his constituency.
The carnival held at SJK (C) Kampung Perting yesterday was the second to be organised in the Bentong parliamentary constituency.
The first was in Kampung Baru Repas. There will be a similar carnival at SJK (C) Karak and SJK (C) Telemong on Sept 5 and 26 respectively.
