Health Ministry to deploy AI to detect dengue hotspots early
22 Jul 2025 03:48pm
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad - BERNAMA FILE PIX
KUALA LUMPUR - The Health Ministry is developing an artificial intelligence (AI) system to predict and identify dengue hotspots, as part of efforts to strengthen early detection and outbreak response.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr 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.
Dr Dzulkefly was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Dr 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 per cent and 100 per cent in suppressing Aedes mosquito populations, he added.
Regarding dengue vaccine development, Dr Dzulkefly said that research and development efforts are ongoing at Universiti Malaya under the ministry's direction. - BERNAMA
More Like This
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
World Health Organization raises concern about spread of mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus
GENEVA (Reuters) -The World Health Organization issued an urgent call for action on Tuesday to prevent a repeat of an epidemic of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus that swept the globe two decades ago, as new outbreaks linked to the Indian Ocean region spread to Europe and other continents. An estimated 5.6 billion people live in areas across 119 countries at risk from the virus, which can cause high fever, joint pain and long-term disability, Diana Rojas Alvarez, a medical officer at the WHO, told reporters in Geneva. "We are seeing history repeating itself," she said, drawing parallels to the 2004-2005 epidemic, which affected nearly half a million people, primarily in small island territories, before spreading around the world. The current surge began in early 2025, with major outbreaks in the same Indian Ocean islands which were previously hit, including La Reunion, Mayotte and Mauritius. An estimated one-third of La Reunion's population has already been infected, Rojas Alvarez said. The virus is now spreading to countries such as Madagascar, Somalia and Kenya, and has shown epidemic transmission in Southeast Asia, including India. Of particular concern is the increasing number of imported cases and recent local transmission within Europe. There have been approximately 800 imported chikungunya cases in continental France since May 1, Rojas Alvarez said. Twelve local transmission episodes have been detected in several southern French regions, meaning individuals were infected by local mosquitoes without having travelled to endemic areas. A case was also detected last week in Italy. Chikungunya, for which there is no specific treatment and which is spread primarily by Aedes mosquito species, including the "tiger mosquito" which also transmits dengue, and Zika, can cause rapid and large outbreaks. As the mosquitoes bite in the daytime, prevention is key, through the use of insect repellent and long-sleeved clothing. (Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by David Holmes)
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Over 2,000 on cardiothoracic surgery waiting list, some wait up to 7 months
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 2,293 patients are currently waiting to undergo cardiothoracic surgeries in government hospitals, with some facing an average wait time of seven months. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, in a written parliamentary reply, said the average waiting period for major procedures such as Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery and heart valve surgery is seven months. He also said there are 603 elective cases on the waiting list, with an average waiting period of 21 months for paediatric cardiothoracic surgeries at seven of the ministry's hospitals offering cardiothoracic surgery services. "For now, paediatric cardiothoracic surgeries are performed by adult cardiothoracic surgeons or referred to the National Heart Institute as paediatric cardiothoracic specialists are still undergoing training," he said. Dzulkefly was responding to a question by Yeo Bee Yin (PH-Puchong), who asked for the number of patients on the waiting list and the average waiting period for surgeries involving cataracts, kidney stones, heart-related procedures such as bypass, heart valve surgery, arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, as well as lung surgeries. He said a total of 2,661 patients are on the waiting list for kidney stone surgeries, with an average waiting period of 11 months at 13 hospitals with resident urology specialists. As for cataract surgery, Dzulkefly said a total of 9,233 patients are currently on the waiting list nationwide, with an average waiting period of three months. He stressed that the ministry has rolled out several initiatives to reduce the waiting period for surgical procedures. These include expanding the hospital cluster concept and placing surgical specialists at more hospitals that do not have resident specialists. In addition, the ministry has implemented collaborations between agencies and public-private partnership programmes to reduce surgery waiting times.
Barnama
7 hours ago
- Barnama
Perak DOSH Receives Over 500 Accident Reports
IPOH, July 22 (Bernama) -- The Perak Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) received a total of 536 reports of workplace accidents during the first six months of this year. Its deputy director, Basharuddin Abd Rahman said the reports involved 10 fatal cases, four cases of permanent disability, 510 cases of non-permanent disability, and 12 dangerous incidents reported during the period. He said initial investigations pointed to employers' failure to conduct risk assessments and implement effective control measures as the main contributing factors to accidents happening at the workplace. "For statistics on occupational diseases and poisoning, 376 cases were reported to the Perak DOSH during the same period. "Among the highest cases reported was hearing loss due to exposure to excessive and prolonged noise," he said during the Accident Prevention Seminar with the Perak Foundry & Engineering Industries Association (PFEIA) at the state level event in Meru Raya here today. Basharuddin said 32 cases had been prosecuted in court involving a total fine of RM449,300 for the first six months of this year. He said DOSH is always open to holding engagement sessions and dialogue with the state government, employers, workers, industry associations, and non-governmental organisations regarding occupational safety and health. He added that this is to strengthen the management of safety and health in the workplace and reduce the rate of accidents. Meanwhile, Perak DOSH Investigation and Prosecution Section head Ir Suhaidy Latip said unsafe behaviour leading to accidents in the foundry industry stem from not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), using equipment incorrectly, violating procedures, fooling around at work, and operating machinery without authorisation.
