NINE cases of monkeypox, one of them a foreigner, were reported in Malaysia between July and November.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the first two cases were logged in Kuala Lumpur in July, the third and fourth in Selangor last month, and the fifth in Sarawak on November 5. The most recent four cases were reported in the capital.

“The ministry is intensifying measures to control and prevent mpox infection including conducting monitoring at the country’s international entry points in collaboration with the Immigration Department for early detection of travellers with symptoms.

“For the admission of foreign students to higher education institutions, especially from countries that have reported cases of mpox or endemic mpox, they are required to monitor themselves for any symptoms for 21 days and to seek treatment if they have the symptoms,” he said.

He said at the Dewan Rakyat today in response to a question from Sabri Azit (Jerai-PN) regarding preventive measures to ensure that the infection does not spread like Covid-19 in Malaysia.

Referring to the Malaysia Mpox Management Guidelines 2023, Lukinisman said people infected with the virus and their close contacts are required to go through a period of isolation until they test free of infection.

“For monitoring purposes, we have 11 sentinel clinics consisting of seven government and four private facilities. For early detection of infection, we have a virus detection test service from 12 laboratories, including four private facilities,” he added.

Meanwhile, Lukanisman told parliament that the release of Aedes mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacteria had proved effective in curbing dengue outbreaks.

He said the initiative was first introduced in 2019, which resulted in 19 mosquito-release localities recording a 100% decrease in dengue cases.

“There are now 31 mosquito-release locations throughout the country with plans to add 10 new locations every year,” he added.

He was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kasim (Arau-PN) about measures taken by the ministry to curb the increasing number of dengue cases.

Lukanisman said Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are not dangerous to humans but kill the dengue virus when they mate with Aedes mosquitoes.

Although it is an effective method, he said, the ministry could not implement it on a large scale as it is costly at 30-45 sen for each infected mosquito.

He said from November 19-25, Malaysia reported 108,429 dengue cases compared with 56,304 cases during the same period last year, an increase of 52,125 cases or 92.6%. – Bernama, November 29, 2023.