KUALA LUMPUR: Extra beds have been added to the dengue ward to accommodate the increasing number of patients at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Since the beginning of this year, there has been a steady flow of patients admitted and diagnosed, causing the ward to be full, said a doctor who refused to be identified.
“The ward has been busy ever since the year began, and whenever one patient gets discharged, another patient gets admitted within a few hours, ” she said, adding that having enough doctors at the ward helps them to keep up with the needs of patients.
In the male dengue ward, 34 patients were admitted with 13 testing positive for the fever.
Sanjay Raj, 14, who was admitted for three days, said although the ward felt overcrowded, he did not mind it.
“The ward is always packed with patients.
“I am cleared to go back, but there are some patients here who have been admitted for almost one week,” he said.
Mohammad Nizam Ismail, 21, from Petaling Jaya, said despite efforts by the authorities, such as fogging and clearing stagnant water, many people in his residential area were suspected of having dengue, and some had tested positive for it.
“I have been here for three days. I do have to thank the staff, despite there being so many of us.
“They have been taking good care of us and making sure we get our check-ups three times a day,” he said.
On Sunday, the New Straits Times reported on the statistics provided by the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre, which indicated that 2,404 dengue cases had been recorded nationwide from Jan 3 to 7.
The number of cases in Selangor was highest with 1,163, followed by Johor (399) and Kuala Lumpur (155).
They were 336 fatalities recorded between Jan 3 and 6, with only three states not recording dengue cases.