KUCHING, June 25: Public cooperation is needed to contain the worrying spread of dengue in Pakan district with 23 cases recorded to date.
Pakan assemblyman Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom thus urged communities in Pakan to cooperate with government agencies to tackle the dengue fever outbreak in the area.
“We cannot put the responsibility of our health and cleanliness solely on government agencies, and instead we should be more concerned and take care of the cleanliness in the surrounding of house or longhouses,” he said in a press release.
He encouraged community leaders and Ketua Kaum to strengthen the collaboration among people and coordinate community-based or gotong-royong projects to clean their housing areas.
“Dengue fever is caused by Aedes mosquito bites and if the surrounding areas are not clean, it can allow Aedes mosquitoes to breed easily which could be harmful to our health,” he added.
Mawan highlighted this when launching a Dengue Awareness Campaign for Pakan District organised jointly by Pakan District Office with Sarikei Division Health Department and Meradong District Council under Pakan District Dengue Outbreak Committee yesterday.
“We are grateful that the communities here acknowledged the actions taken by the Health Office to hold such campaign,” he said.
The programme was held at the Pakan community hall and attended by 89 participants including Pemanca, Penghulu, and Tuai Rumah.
The campaign was intended to raise awareness among communities on efforts to maintain good cleanliness in the environment to prevent Aedes mosquitoes from threatening public health.
Earlier on, a briefing on the dengue outbreak was presented by Sarikei District Office assistant health officer Benedict Jony.
Other than to raise awareness about dengue, the briefing also disseminates information on the symptoms of dengue fever and prevention measures.—DayakDaily
