KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported five deaths from dengue fever complications and recorded 2,805 new cases last week.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said the cumulative number of dengue cases up to Epidemiological Week 27 (EW27P) was 78,068, a sharp increase from the 61,545 cases recorded over the same period in 2023.
"A total of 63 deaths due to dengue complications have been reported during this period, compared with 42 deaths in the previous year," he said in a statement today.
Additionally, 86 hotspot localities were identified in EW27, compared with 78 in the previous week.
Dr Radzi said of the 86 localities, 67 were in Selangor, six in Negri Sembilan, five in Kedah, three in Perak, and two each in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya with one in Sarawak.
He added that no Chikungunya outbreaks were recorded in EW24. As for Zika surveillance, 1,388 blood samples, seven urine samples and three spinal fluid samples were tested, all of which came back negative.
He advised the public to consistently engage in "search and destroy" activities for at least 10 minutes once a week to eliminate Aedes mosquito breeding sites around their homes.
"This small action can significantly impact combating the dengue outbreak in the country," he added.