10 dengue deaths over Hari Raya weekend

PETALING JAYA: Ten people died of dengue last week, bringing the death toll between Jan 1 and July 25 to 185 cases.
The Health Ministry said the deaths occurred during the Hari Raya holidays from July 19 to 25, when many had left their houses unattended to "balik kampung" or go on vacation.
During the week, a total of 2,549 dengue cases were reported, bringing the cases for the period between Jan 1 and July 25 to 67,944 cases as compared to 51, 987 cases during the same corresponding period last year.
The ministry said they also identified 246 aedes hotspots, with 168 of them being in Selangor, 64 in Johor, 10 in Perak and four in Penang.
The ministry has urged members of the public to clean up their homes and surroundings before the disease kills more innocent people.
Meanwhile in IPOH, a large-scale operation called "X-Aedes" was launched yesterday to clean up several places in Taman Chempaka, which is listed as the top dengue spot in the country.
State health committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, who launched the operation, said the dengue menace has not been reduced over a 233-day period from November last year.

The operation involved some 700 officers and personnel from the various departments and agencies and voluntary organisations.
A total of 117 cases were detected in Taman Chempaka since last November.