Dengue cases in Malaysia have been lingering on for decades. This is not something new for us and despite the numerous efforts over the years, the number of dengue cases are increasing annually.

There were a reported 36,991 cases of dengue with 81 deaths all over the country since January this year and the percentage of potentially fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever cases has also gone up by 50 percent.

The siutation turned fairly critical when four people died of acute dengue fever in Manjung out from 175 who were diagnosed with dengue and very recently, a sharp spike of 961 dengue cases was reported within a week in the early part of October.

Why would this be the case? There have been mass anti-dengue campaigns running over the past years and yet our country still has a high average of reported dengue cases per year.

The core of the problem lies not in the conducting of these public campaigns but rather in their sustainability. Campaign activities die out after a few months and inevitably dengue cases recur to endanger public health.

To effectively stem these outbreaks, a combination of long and short-term measures are vital. Short-term solutions include maintaining and ensuring an adequate number of garbage collection points in housing areas, frequent cleaning and clearing of public drains, inspection of premises for Aedes-breeding and periodic fogging activities.

The rainy season and floods also worsen the situation and all quarters should be on high alert. The healthcare sector must be sufficiently ready in terms of manpower and facilities to cater for high dengue admissions and also ensure proper administration of medical treatment.

Certain quarters have cited public apathy as an aggravating factor which we think it is precisely why the need for sustainable and multi-sectoral education programmes to provide proper guidance and incite behavioral change.

Improving communications between the government and communities is also essential for an anti-dengue public campaign to work.

We have been seeing public messages being run on national TV stations for decades but apart from such public announcements and general distribution of educational flyers, we have yet to observe any comprehensive outreach programmes being conducted among various layers of the communities to effectively convey such messages.

To holistically combat the dengue plague, the community must be mobilised to take cohesive action. The government should streamline all its dengue prevention activities and form collaborations with the various stakeholders ranging from the ministerial level to residents’ associations.

Anti-dengue committees can also be set up at the village level to monitor the dengue situation within those communities.

The writer is president, Fomca.