KUALA LUMPUR, 13 Aug 2009: A total of 585 dengue cases with one death were reported from 2 to 8 Aug, an increase of 17 cases, or 3%, from the previous week.
The death involved a 32-year-old housewife who was a diabetic and lived in Taman Peringgit Jaya, Melaka Tengah, where two outbreaks with 13 cases had occurred this year, Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said today.
He said the woman started having fever and joint aches on 21 July but only sought treatment at a private clinic five days later.
She was diagnosed as having respiratory tract ailment and was warded at the Malacca Hospital on 28 July after her mother found her unconscious, he said in a statement here today.
Ismail said the woman was suspected of having dengue haemorrhagic fever and meningoencephalitis, or infection of the meninges, and was confirmed on the same day to be suffering from dengue.
She died on 29 July due to complications from shock syndrome.
Ismail said from 2 to 8 Aug, six states recorded an increase in dengue cases: Johor (64%), Malacca (35%), Pahang (29%), Negeri Sembilan (21%), Sabah (17%) and Selangor (8%).
The total number of cases this year stands at 28,127 with 67 deaths, compared with 26,829 cases and 62 deaths for the corresponding period last year, he said, adding that this represented a 5% increase, or 1,298 cases.
Ismail said as of 8 Aug, 27 hotspots were reported, four fewer than the previous week, while nine localities were declared to be free of hotspots.
On Chikungunya, he said 27 cases were reported, a drop of eight cases from the previous week; only Sarawak, Pahang and Johor showed an increase. However, he said, there were no Chikungunya-related deaths so far. — Bernama
