Dengue cases in Malaysia rose 66% to 65,979 by Epidemiological Week 35, while deaths nearly doubled to 62, says Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded a 66% increase in dengue cases as of Epidemiological Week 35 this year, while deaths from the disease nearly doubled compared with the same period last year.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said the Cabinet was briefed today on the worsening dengue situation, with 65,979 cases recorded up to Epidemiological Week 35 this year, compared with 39,616 cases during the corresponding period in 2025.
He said dengue-related deaths also increased to 62 this year, compared with 32 during the same period last year.
“This represents an increase of 93.8%,” he said during his weekly press conference.
Fahmi said the Cabinet was also informed of measures to step up efforts to curb the spread of dengue, including large-scale gotong-royong programmes to be organised by the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) over the coming months.
He said the programmes would focus particularly on areas identified as dengue red zones and locations experiencing outbreaks.
“The first measure is that KPKT will organise large-scale gotong-royong programmes in the coming months, followed by an announcement from the ministry,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet was also briefed on the progress and effectiveness of the Wolbachia mosquito programme, including its implementation in Putrajaya.
Fahmi said the briefing also highlighted an issue involving fogging activities, which could inadvertently kill Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.
He said while fogging was carried out to control Aedes mosquito populations, it could also eliminate Wolbachia mosquitoes, which play a role in suppressing dengue virus transmission.
“When fogging is carried out, Wolbachia mosquitoes can also be killed. This is one of the matters that was brought to the Cabinet’s attention,” he said.
He added that efforts to control dengue must therefore be intensified, particularly through coordinated clean-up campaigns in high-risk areas.
“This includes increasing efforts to conduct large-scale gotong-royong, especially in areas identified as red zones or where outbreaks are occurring,” he said.
