JOHOR BARU: The Johor State Health Department (JKNJ) has recorded an increase in conjunctivitis, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) and asthma cases following the worsening haze situation in several areas in the state.
State Health and Unity Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said conjunctivitis rose to 45 cases or 74 per cent compared to the 26 cases before the haze situation.
"As for URTI, a total of 1,528 cases were recorded, which is an increase of 30.1 per cent compared to the previous total of 1,174; while asthma cases have gone up from 52 before the haze situation to 82, which is a 57 per cent increase," he told a media conference here today (October 10).
As such, he advised the public to pay attention to health factors as the Department of Environment (DoE) expects the haze situation to worsen further.
"Everyone is reminded not to carry out any open activity, drink only boiled water and wear face masks if facing health issues," he said.
According to the MyIPU application as of 4pm today, Larkin and Batu Pahat recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings of 152 and 159 respectively. – Bernama