The rainy season is most conducive to the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, largely responsible for an increase in the number of dengue, Chikungunya and Zika cases.
However, the prevention of the Aedes mosquito would only take 10 minutes in a week. Taking out 10 minutes within every week can help in destroying the breeding grounds to halt the laying of eggs of Aedes.
As reported in Bernama, the head of the Vector-Borne Disease Section of the Health Ministry in Malaysia, Dr Rose Nani Mudin has advised people to put in better efforts to prevent dengue mosquitoes. According to the doctor, people need to be proactive and initiate efforts to fight the dengue menace by finding and destroying the breeding grounds of the Aedes mosquito.
She told the daily, “During the rainy season, the collected water can breed Aedes mosquito. Give priority to keeping your surroundings clean and free of the breeding grounds of mosquitoes. Spend 10 minutes a week to find and destroy Aedes breeding grounds.”
Dr Rose Nani blamed climate change, especially the alternate rainy and hot seasons, as the main factor that could lead in an increase in the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes. She added, “Measures that can be taken to protect ourselves against mosquito bites are spraying aerosol to kill adult mosquitoes using insect repellent. One should also wear bright-coloured clothing that covered the whole body especially when outdoors. Others are to use ‘abate’ in any pool of water and install insect screens on windows and doors.”
While Aedes mosquito is a carrier of the dengue, Chikungunya, Zika and Yellow Fever viruses, Malaysia has only reported cases of dengue, Chikungunya and Zika fevers. Between January and October 2019, the number of dengue cases was 106,660. Last year, for the corresponding period, the number stood at 59,657 cases.
Highest number of dengue fever cases was reported in Selangor, with 59,001 cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (13,242), Johor (9,037), Kelantan (4,894), Sabah (4,348) and Penang (3,735).
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