Health minister Dr Adham Baba said 12,188 dengue cases and eight fatalities were recorded compared with 45,584 cases and 84 fatalities in the same period last year.

“Although the country is still grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, efforts in combating the dengue fever threat must continue as dengue is an endemic disease that has long been a burden to Malaysia’s public health system,” he said in a statement in conjunction with Asean Dengue Day today.

Adham said the Asean Dengue Day, celebrated on June 15 each year since its declaration in 2011, aimed to establish an advocacy platform, including among the community, to continue efforts to eradicate dengue in a continuous and integrated manner.

As the theme for this year’s national-level Asean Dengue Day is “10 Minutes to Destroy Aedes”, Adham urged the people to spend at least 10 minutes cleaning their surroundings at their premises to destroy Aedes mosquito breeding grounds each week.

“During the movement control order period, as people spend more time at home, they must take this opportunity to ensure that their premises are free from Aedes breeding spots” he said.

Adham said dengue prevention efforts were also boosted through the involvement of Communication For Behavioural Impact (Combi) volunteers nationwide.

The Combi volunteers carry out promotional activities to eradicate dengue using new approaches such as through social media.

As of May 31, there were a total of 3,084 Combi teams involving 28,381 volunteers.