JOHOR BARU: Johor recorded a decline in dengue cases with 147 cases in epidemiological week 19 (ME19) from 171 cases the previous week.
State health and unity committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said of the 147 cases, 50 (34%) were epidemic locality cases and 97 (66%) were non-epidemic locality cases.
“The cumulative cases for ME19 (May 3 to 9) also declined, at 2,446 compared to 6,328 cases in the corresponding period last year," he said in a statement on Tuesday (May 13).
He said Johor Baru district has the highest number of cases with 113 (76.9.%), followed by Kulai with 14 (9.5%), Muar and Kota Tinggi with five cases each (3.4%).
They were followed by Segamat and Batu Pahat with three cases (2%) each, and Mersing, Tangkak and Kluang with one case (0.7%) each.
“There were no cases recorded in Pontian," he said.
He also noted that Kulai, Muar and Kota Tinggi saw an increase in cases from ME18 to ME19.
He said four dengue-related deaths have occurred in the state to date, against eight for the whole of last year.
Ling said 2,508 notices for a total of RM1.25mil were issued this year to date, with 69% of the offenders settling their fines.
On a related matter, he said hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) incidences in Johor had exceeded the alert level since early this year and showed a greater frequency than the last two years.
Ling said 1,964 cases were recorded in ME19 against 1,687 in ME18, an increase of 16.4%, bringing the cumulative HFMD cases this year to date to 13,415.
He said the majority of those affected were children aged below six (10,773 cases, 80.3%), followed by those between seven and 12 years (2,269 cases, 16.9%), with the remaining patients aged 13 and above.
“There were seven HFMD clusters in ME19, bringing the total cumulative clusters to 86 involving 30 kindergartens, 21 pre-schools, 15 childcare centres, a primary school and a private residential area.
He also reminded operators of early education institutions to take precautionary measures to minimise the risk of infection.
“Practise and observe high standards of hygiene and immediately report to the District Health Department in case HFMD is detected on the grounds," he said.
