The uproar and panic over the Covid-19 pandemic are far from over but that doesn’t mean we should forget about another disease that has been plaguing us for many years now.
Ministry of Health released an infographic for Dengue that has reportedly caused five deaths in Malaysia from 6 September to 12 September. Two of the deaths happened in Johor while the other three deaths happened in Pahang, Selangor and Melaka respectively.
They reminded that just like Covid-19, dengue also has no vaccine or specific treatment. Prevention is the best vaccine for dengue. Just in six months, from 29 December 2019 to 12 September 2020, the Aedes mosquitoes have killed 123 Malaysians making the death count higher than that of Covid-19.
Here are MOH’s recommendations to how you can avoid getting bitten by Aedes mosquitoes:
- Using mosquito repellents
- Wearing long-sleeved clothing and pants
- Spraying mosquito repellent
- Using mosquito repellent nets and sleeping in them as well
- Avoid spending time in open places from 6-8am and 6-8pm as these are prime Aedes hours
As much as we need to worry about the Covid-19 outbreak in our country, let us not forget that dengue can be dangerous to you and your family as well. So, please make sure to remove all forms of stagnant water in your homes or any other possible breeding grounds.
Also read: More Malaysians Infected With Dengue Than Covid-19 With 50,511 Cases & 88 Deaths in 6 Months