KUCHING: Dengue fever has become a worrying matter as from January
till November, 150 cases have been recorded in Kuching, Bau and Lundu
areas.
Expressing his concern, Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) Chairman, Lo
Khere Chiang, said that there were 136 dengue fever cases in Kuching, 11
cases in Bau and three cases in Lundu.
“In August, five dengue cases were recorded in Kampung Paroh, Tapah
Village, Kampung Bengoh, Kampung Plaman Teng and Kampung Karu,” he told
a press conference at the MPP Service Centre, Batu Kawa yesterday.
Lo added last month, six dengue cases were recorded in Tapah Village,
Taman Desa Wira, Kampung Plaman Seromah, Kampung Chupak and Kampung Gayu.
“During our Standing Committee meeting last month, we noticed increases
of dengue fever cases mostly in Kuching City.
“Last time, dengue fever only happened in villages but now, it is
happening in the city areas,” he said.
“This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed and cannot be
taken lightly because dengue fever has no cure and can lead to death.”
Hence, the public needed to know that aedes mosquitoes bred on illegal
dumping sites, in stagnant water in bottles, drains, used bamboo tubes
and coconut husks.
“We are human beings. When we travel, we go to places that are clean and
beautiful.
“Definitely, you would not want to go to places that are dirty, have
dengue fever or malaria,” said Lo.
“Indeed, we cannot stop dengue fever cases immediately but we can
prevent them. The council alone cannot solve this problem. We need the
community to cooperate with us by keeping their surroundings clean,”
he said.
Meanwhile, Environmental Health Officer from Kuching Health Department,
Kassim Serah, said there were dengue outbreaks in the Padawan areas of
Simuti, Bengoh, Chupak and Sikog.
“Cases linked to the outbreaks occured in Sibakar, Sibuang, Bayur and
SMK Penrissen while there were isolated cases in Kampung Gayu, Biyar
Jabor, Sadir, Bruang Bayur, Jambu, Landeh, Teng Bukap, Karu, Sungai
Moyan, Taman Moyan, Rantau Panjang, Sudat, Desa Wira and Semengok,” he
added.
“We are now doing fogging, conducting “gotong-royong” activities and
awareness programmes in all outbreak areas to educate the public on the
importance of keeping their surroundings clean.”
Kassim said that compounds of RM500 were also issued in the affected
areas to stop the cases from spreading.
Kassim said that fogging was usually done during the peak biting time of
the aedes mosquitoes – from 5.00am till 8.00am or from 5.00pm till 8.00pm.
“The public must seek treatment immediately if they show any symptoms of
dengue cases such as high fever, joint pain, bleeding in the gums and
nose or rashes,” he stressed.
At the press conference, Trienekens Sarawak Sdn Bhd’s Senior Manager
(Logistics and Services), Sarius Lee, also raised his concern over the
illegal dumping at Lorong 15 of RPR Batu Kawa.
“It is time to change public attitudes on the cleanliness of
neighbourhoods in order to control the outbreak of diseases,” he stressed.
Lee pointed out that illegal dumping had been one of the causes of
dengue fever.
“On Trienekens’ side, collection of rubbish alone cannot solve the
problem. This is a man made problem and cleanliness is the joint
responsibility of all,” he said.
Wednesday 11-Nov-2015
New Sarawak Tribune.