PUTRAJAYA, March 21 (Bernama) -- The number of dengue fever cases in the 11th epidemiological week this year (March 12 to 18) slightly dropped by 0.05 per cent to 2,151 cases from 2,152 cases in the previous week, with no fatalities recorded. 

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cumulative number of dengue fever cases reported to date is 23,753 cases compared to 7,364 during the same period last year, adding that this was an increase of 222.6 per cent.

“Sixteen deaths due to dengue fever complications have been reported so far compared to three fatalities in the same period of 2022,” he said in a statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said the number of hotspot localities reported remained the same as the previous week at 91 locations, with 54 of them located in Selangor, 16 in Penang, 11 in Sabah, five each in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, three in Perak and one each in Kedah and Negeri Sembilan.

As for chikungunya, Dr Noor Hisham said a total of seven cases were recorded in the 11th epidemiological week, with five cases in Johor and two in Selangor, making the cumulative number to date 106 cases.

As for zika surveillance, a total of 539 blood samples and four urine sample were screened, with the results all negative, he said.

In conjunction with the upcoming Ramadan month, he reminded Ramadan Bazaar visitors to use mosquito repellent if visiting the premises in the late evening.

 "Traders in the bazaar and visitors must keep the environment clean and dispose of containers that can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, such as shells, coconut shells, food and beverage containers, in the designated disposal areas," he said.

 -- BERNAMA