Posted on May 19, 2009. Published under Dengue fever
For those traveling to Melaka, fear no more as since today the government declared Malacca to be meningitis free.
This came after releasing the 3 last quarantined citizens one week ago from hospital. No new cases of meningitis have been reported since the outbreak started beginning this month.
Traveling however continues to be hazardous when you travel by plane: airplanes just circulate a limited amount of air, so whoever has a flu, you most likely will breath in his or her germs.
That’s what happened with a Japanese citizen of Malacca who traveled on board of a Malaysian Air Lines flight where one of the passengers got the H1N1 virus. Meanwhile his girlfriend got the H1N1 virus (swine flu, Mexican flu, Influenza A) as well, but the Japanese expat is confirmed to be as healthy as a fish.
Which makes Malaysia again a healthy country to travel to, just make sure you protect yourself against aedes mosquitoes in order not to get dengue fever nor the milder chikungunya disease:
make sure you use mosquito repellent all the time
be aware that the mosquitoes normally fly between 17.00 pm and 09.00 am and
they attack "below the waist", so protect your feet, ankles and legs especially.
Meanwhile 10.000 people worldwide have been recorded having the swine flu, luckily it’s not that deadly but it’s quite a headache, literary!
Posted on February 10, 2009. Published under Dengue fever
Today again a Malaysian governmental worker was fogging against aedes mosquitoes, attempting better dengue fever prevention.
Meanwhile on the radio it was announced that:
Malaysian dengue cases: deaths almost double from 2008
Having been in hospital already twice with dengue fever and many of my friends also once or twice we do take preventive measures to get rid of aedes mosquitoes:
not having any stale water standing anywhere outside
mosquito netting on doors and windows
not going out uncovered between 17.00pm and 09.00am
Although more people are aware of the danger: the death toll still has doubled compared to last year. This only means one thing:
That does explain the more intense fogging. Fogging only takes place after a dengue case has been reported by a local hospital. More fogging means more dengue cases are reported in the hospital nearby us…
Be warned when you visit or return home from Malaysia and you have severe headaches, less appetite and flu-like symptoms. Especially when you don’t feel like eating nor doing anything (not even waking up):
go and see a doctor and tell them you have visited a country where dengue fever is on the rise.
The main thing is that doctors monitor your blood platelet level. Once it goes down (5 to 7 days after you have been bitten by an aedes mosquito), you need to administer yourself into hospital.
Not that there is a cure for dengue fever, but when your platelet count is low, hospitals can give you blood serum to keep you alive. Meanwhile your body has to fight off the dengue fever virus.
Posted on February 8, 2009. Published under Dengue fever
War on Dengue and Chikungunya: that’s the new slogan to combat the chikungunya outbreak in Malaysia.
So who are Malaysians fighting against? Mosquitoes! Not aedes mosquitoes that cause dengue fever, not malaria mosquitoes that luckily aren’t here but: chikungunya causing aedes mosquitos.
The good news
Chikungunya is not as deadly as dengue fever… Nevertheless you will feel very sick as if you have dengue fever.
As we mentioned above: it’s the same aedes mosquito spreading dengue as well as chikungunya.
So the only good thing you can say when you have chikungunya is: thank God this aedes mosquito wasn’t carrying dengue!
Mosquito Awareness
Although I haven’t had anybody on my doorstep explaining me how to combat mosquitoes, the radio is boosting a heavy mosquito awareness campaign these days.
And as you can see in the picture: Malaysia is really fogging heavily: I couldn’t see anything anymore out of my window once the fogging people passed by. All free, as normally they bother to ask you to pay, pretending they were a private company.
Fogging only kills adult aedes mosquitoes
Although now fogging is increased, this only kills the adult mosquitoes. Which means the eggs and larvae that are in water will still survive. It’s these "babies" that make the war against aedes mosquito’s only possible if we eliminate water at our premises.
Standing water provides an excellent environment for aedes mosquitoes to breed. To control mosquitoes do eliminate sources of standing water outside your home:
Drain or remove water-holding containers such as:
dishes beneath flower pots : that’s where I found my aedes mosquito larvae
buckets : even if you turn them upside down: the larvae only need 1 drop of water in order to become a mosquito
rain barrels
leaky outdoor faucets
toys or garbage that holds water
cans
bottles
clogged rain gutters
wading pools
boats
plastic covers and tarps
Remove old tires and plug tree holes and stumps, as these can also be popular breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Also, be sure to routinely change the water in pet dishes and birdbaths.
The bad news: chikungunya outbreak
Chikungunya is but the latest in a long line of diseases carried by mosquitoes, which include Malaria, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, and the West Nile Encephalitis and causing 1 million deaths worldwide.
In 2007: Malaysia reported 200 chikungunya cases. In 2008: more than 3700 cases have occurred.
Today it has risen to 100 chikungunya cases per week.
For those visiting Malaysia
Please cover yourself from 17.00pm till 09.00am and use as much mosquito-repellant as possible! The dengue and chikungunya outbreak is here to stay.
