Dr Jerip: Hold ‘gotong-royong’ to fight dengue

KUCHING: The villagers in Mambong should take the initiative to organise environmental and health cleanup activities for their areas.

In making this call, Assistant Minister of Transportation Datuk Dr Jerip Susil said all households in this constituency – where he is the assemblyman – must ensure that their compounds are not waterlogged and any unused containers, which could become potential breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito, are removed.

“The village folk must organise environmental and health clean-up activities themselves,” he reiterated when asked for comments about the two recently reported dengue cases in Kampung Abang, located in the Upper Padawan in Mambong.

Dr Jerip, who is a medical doctor by training, also advised those who showed symptoms of fever to immediately go to the nearest clinic for medical check-ups.

Meanwhile Sarawak Administrative Officer ( SAO) for Padawan Sub-District Office, Rangen Jamang said the villagers of Kampung Abang had carried out ‘gotong-royong’ (work party) twice to clean up their compounds. He said the clean-up activity also involved representatives from Health Department Sarawak and Padawan Municipal Council (MPP).

In this respect, Rangen advised those from other villages across Mambong to also carry out ‘gotong-royong’ to prevent the spread of dengue from striking their respective areas.

In a press statement issued on July 27 this year, the Health Department said the number of dengue cases in Sarawak this year to date had dropped by 55.9 per cent, or 372 cases – thanks to collaborative efforts by multiple parties. There were 293 cases reported between Jan 1 and July 21 this year, versus 665 cases recorded in the corresponding period last year.