By SALINA KHALID | Feb 3, 2009

14 dengue hot spots identified in Shah Alam

The 14 Shah Alam areas make up 30% of the total hot spots identified in Selangor.

THE National Dengue Task Force has identified 14 residential areas in Shah Alam as hot spots for dengue.

They are among the 48 hot spots that have recorded the highest number of dengue cases in Selangor since Jan 1.

The 14 Shah Alam areas make up 30% of the total hot spots identified in Selangor, making the state capital the second on the red alert list, after Kajang which has 16 hot spot locations.

There are seven hot spots in Petaling Jaya, five in Gombak, two in Subang Jaya, two in Hulu Langat, and one each in Hulu Selangor and Sepang.

The Shah Alam hot spots are located mainly at the developed areas of the capital city and they have continued to record new cases for more than a month.

The affected areas are located at Padang Jawa C (36 cases), Section 26 (33), Pangsapuri Anggerik Section 16 (32), Section 25 (27), Section 11 (23), Jalan 18/3 Flats (20), Padang Jawa B (19), Taman Alam Indah in Section 33 (17), Section 20 PKNS Flats (15 cases), Section 6 Flats (12), Section 27 (9), Section 13 Perdana Apartment (9), Section 8 (8) and Section 10 (6 ).

Of the reported cases, 161 have been confirmed with one case of haemorraghic dengue fever.

According to Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) public relations officer Shahrin Ahmad, the MBSA has inspected 3,252 places, including residential premises, commercial areas, schools, factories, kindergartens, construction sites, abandoned housing projects, playgrounds and other recreational spots throughout the city.

“We had found aedes mosquito- breeding ground at 240 premises and had issued 137 summonses under the Local Government Act 1976 which carries a fine of RM500,” Shahrin said.

“We have also fogged 165,889 pre-mises,” he said.

Despite the almost annual outbreaks of dengue and the intensive government campaigns to raise awareness on the need to curb the breeding of aedes mosquitoes, many residents are still indifferent to the risks involved in allowing aedes mosquitoes to breed in their premises.

The dengue figure seems to increase each new year, with Shah Alam having the notorious reputation as one of those on top of the dengue chart. It certainly is an image the MBSA can do without.

Public apathy is obviously among the major reasons contributing to the critical state of affairs.

“Most of the people do not clean and properly maintain their water tanks, corridors and gutters at their houses which provide breeding grounds for the aedes mosquito,” Shahrin said.

“Some don’t even dispose of their garbage properly which aggravates the situation,” he said.

Shahrin said in addition to constant inspections at premises in the city, the MBSA also distributed fliers and brochures to raise awareness on the issue and to remind the people on their role in combating the aedes mosquitoes.

He said the MBSA would work closely with schools and residents associations in a campaign to combat dengue in the city.

“But the most important factor is that everyone should do his or her part in resolving the problem. They cannot just leave everything to the authorities. They need to play a significant role in the war against dengue,” Shahrin said.

“All it takes is only 10 minutes each week to ensure that their premises are free of aedes mosquito- breeding sites,” he said.

According to the National Dengue Task Force, within the first month of this year, dengue had already claimed 14 lives, with 5,062 cases reported, compared with only five fatalities and 2,855 cases for the corresponding period last year.

The task force had recorded 49,335 cases throughout the country last year, with 112 deaths, compared with 48,846 cases, including 98 deaths, in 2007.

Selangor recorded the highest number of cases of 1,196, while Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya together have 48 cases.

Of the 48 neighbourhoods in Selangor, only Taman Cheras Jaya and Taman Semenyih Indah have organised voluntary gotong-royong this year to clean up their areas, while none of the other locations has implemented any remedial measures.

Many households in the affected areas have also refused to allow the local authorities to conduct pesticide fogging to kill the aedes mosquitoes that transmits the dengue fever.