Malaysia: Dengue cases drop this week, Zika outbreak contained

FAZLEENA AZIZ New Straits Times 7 Oct 16;

PUTRAJAYA: Dengue cases in the country are continuing to drop, with only 1,710 cases reported in week 39 (Sept 25 to Oct 1) compared to the previous week, with 1,818 cases.

In a statement released yesterday, Health Department director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the latest figure brings the total cumulative number of dengue cases from Jan to Oct 1 to 83,224 cases, compared to 91,822 cases in the same period last year.

As for the number of deaths recorded in week 39, four patients succumbed to the disease – two in Negri Sembilan and one in Selangor and Johor each.

“The total cumulative number of dengue-related deaths from Jan to Oct 1 is 186 cases compared to 253 recorded in the same period last year,” he added.

As for the Zika outbreak, the number of cases recorded across the country remains at seven from Sept 1 to Oct 1, said Dr Noor Hisham.

The National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), as well as private hospitals and laboratories carried out continuous surveillance on Zika from June to Oct 1, he added.

“A total of 1,130 blood and urine samples were tested, but no Zika virus infections were detected,” he said.