Health Ministry developing AI to predict dengue hotspots

The Health Ministry is developing an AI system to predict dengue hotspots, as part of efforts to strengthen early detection and outbreak response.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told the Dewan Rakyat today that the predictive AI tool is designed to pinpoint high-risk areas before case numbers rise, enabling more targeted intervention.

“Dengue-related deaths have now exceeded Covid-19 fatalities. So far this year, there have been 21 dengue deaths, compared to just one from Covid-19,” he said during the question-and-answer session.

However, he noted the situation has improved from last year, when Malaysia recorded over 83,000 dengue cases and 117 deaths.

Dzulkefly was responding to a supplementary question from Ahmad Yunus Hairi (PN–Kuala Langat), who asked about measures to tackle recurring dengue outbreaks.

He said Selangor continues to record the highest number of cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur. He also highlighted the effectiveness of the Wolbachia mosquito programme, which is being implemented in 45 localities.

The programme has achieved success rates of between 45 and 100 percent in suppressing Aedes mosquito populations, he added.

According to the World Health Organization, Wolbachia is a symbiotic bacterium that occurs naturally in many insects. Although Wolbachia is not found naturally in Aedes aegypti, it has been successfully transferred into the mosquito and has been found to reduce transmission of a range of viruses, including dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever.

Regarding dengue vaccine development, Dzulkefly said research and development efforts are ongoing at Universiti Malaya under the ministry’s direction.

- Bernama

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