GEORGE TOWN: Dengue fever cases in Penang rose by 177 per cent to 807 cases as at June 7, an increase of 516 cases compared to the 291 cases reported in the corresponding period of last year.
The Chairman of the State Committee for Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health, Dr Afif Bahardin said the number of cases was expected to continue to rise following the dry weather and erratic rain lately.
"The dengue trend actually dropped slightly from the 13th week up to the 20th week but rose significantly in the following week until now due to the change in weather," he told reporters, here today.
He said there were four localities with the highest dengue cases namely Taman Dahlia in Butterworth; Taman Seri Impian, Bukit Mertajam; Jalan Kuantan and Jalan C.Y Choy here.
He said that the district health offices and the local authorities would launch the 'gotong-royong perdana' two weeks before the month of Ramadan. -- BERNAMA
