Genting Highlands (The Star/ANN) - Selangor recorded the highest number of dengue cases, with 1,271 cases reported from last month, Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said.
This figure was almost 50 per cent of the 2,854 cases nationwide. Eleven deaths were reported so far, he added.
He urged the public to do their part in eradicating the spread of the Aedes mosquito, which also transmits the chikungunya virus.
The numbers compare with the 2,781 cases and six deaths reported in the same period last year.
Liow said Kuala Lumpur had 313 cases.
"Such a big disparity between the two states is extremely worrying," he said after attending Resorts World Genting's annual Chinese New Year children's party here yesterday.
Liow, who sounded the "high alert" warning for dengue on Saturday, urged doctors to report dengue cases or hot spots in their areas so the ministry could zoom in on them.
"We will send a team to fumigate and investigate the hot spots. If they (doctors) don't inform us, we will have difficulty taking action," he said, adding that the number of dengue cases had spiked drastically to 480 in the past week alone.
He warned the public that the ministry might once again increase the compound penalty for neglecting to ensure Aedes-free breeding grounds in their homes to 500 ringgit (US$165).
"Currently, it is 100 ringgit per compound fine, but we raised it to 500 ringgit when dengue cases were at a record high in 2010," he said, adding that the ministry would continue to fund and train more community-based anti-dengue (Combi) teams nationwide.
He urged anyone who had dengue symptoms including unabated high fever, body ache, nausea and lethargy to seek medical treatment before it became fatal.
Regarding the water-borne rotavirus outbreak in Perak, Liow said the results of the water samples would be ready by today.
On another issue, Liow said a ministry team would investigate the death of a six-day-old infant girl at Johor Baru's Sultanah Aminah Hospital on Friday.
The parents had alleged that the girl's death was due to negligence.
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