SANDAKAN – The Sandakan District Health Office has warned residents to take dengue seriously as the number of cases in the district has soared by 1,215% compared to the same period last year.
Sandakan district health officer Dr Johari Awang Besar said that from January until September 10 this year, 863 dengue cases were reported in Sandakan, compared to only 71 cases last year.
He said dengue had taken the lives of three children, aged 7 to 10, in the district this year, one each in Kg Tinusa 2 Laut, the Perpaduan squatter settlement (behind Bandar Letat Mile 3) and Taman Sri Rimba Gaya.
“I must advise the people in Sandakan – we have to be serious about dengue. The district health office had taken necessary steps to conduct fogging in residential areas, (so) the people must cooperate by letting health personnel enter their houses,” he said at a press conference here today.
Johari said 121 localities in Sandakan have experienced a dengue outbreak this year.
He said this represented a 1,916% increase in outbreaks compared to only six outbreaks from January to September 10 last year.
Currently, Sandakan has 63 active dengue localities where cases have been recorded over the past 30 days, while 30 localities have been declared as “outbreak” areas, and another 33 recorded single cases.
He said there are six identified dengue hotspots namely Kg Tinusa 2 Darat (24 cases), Kg Tinusa 2 Laut (19), Taman Indah Jaya Fasa 1 (15), Taman Mawar Fasa 4 (20), Kg Bahagia (7) and Taman Damai (12).
Four localities were identified as having “uncontrollable” outbreaks, which are those with ongoing new cases for more than 14 days, namely Taman Mawar Phase 1 (11 cases), Taman Mesra (11), Taman Mawar Phase 2 (eight) and Kg Tinusa 1 (five).
“I have repeated this many times. What we should do now is simple. Allow health personnel to enter your homes (for fogging), destroy potential mosquito breeding spots at least once a week and also ‘gotong royong’ (group cleaning) in public places.
“Fogging is a temporary measure because it only kills adult mosquitoes. We need to destroy the larvae as well, as they could also carry the virus,” he said.
Johari said given the high number of dengue cases in Sandakan, the people here must also ensure they did not take fever symptoms lightly.
“Please go to a health facility immediately if you experience symptoms such as prolonged fever, sore joints and bones, rashes, vomiting or diarrhoea, pain behind the eyes and bleeding from the mouth or nose.
“Delayed detection could be detrimental to your organs, or worse, could be fatal,” he said.
People here are also encouraged to spray aerosol insecticide in their homes every evening.
Johari said that the district health office had faced repeating obstacles in combating dengue in Sandakan, such as people refusing to allow health personnel to enter their homes and abandoned houses.
To solve this, he said the office has been receiving help from police, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Sandakan Municipal Council so that fogging can be conducted inside all houses located in hotspots and potential hotspot localities.
According to Sabah Health Department statistics, from January 1 to September 12 this year, Sandakan recorded the second highest number of dengue infections in the state at 884 cases, with Kota Kinabalu recording the highest number at 968 cases.
The dengue cases in the two districts are significantly higher than other districts, while Tawau came in third place with 331 cases.
Last July, the Sabah Community Development and People’s Well-being Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya revealed that Sabah had seen a 101.9% jump in dengue cases, with 1,791 cases this year compared to 887 cases during the same period last year. – The Vibes, September 13, 2022
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