PUTRAJAYA, Sept 9 — The number of dengue cases in the country rose 66 per cent to 65,979 as of epidemiological week 35 (EW35) this year compared with 39,616 cases in EW35 last year, said Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the increase was among the matters presented to the Cabinet during a briefing on dengue cases today.
“Meanwhile, the cumulative number of deaths from dengue fever up to epidemiological week 35 in 2025 stood at 32, while in the same period in 2026, the figure was 62, representing an increase of 93.8 per cent,” he said at his weekly press conference after the Cabinet meeting here.
Fahmi said that as a preventive measure, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) would carry out large-scale community cleanups to curb the spread of dengue.
He added that the Cabinet was also briefed on the success of the Wolbachia-infected Aedes mosquito-breeding programme.
He said Wolbachia-carrying Aedes mosquitoes were able to inhibit the reproduction of the dengue virus, but that fogging could have impacted the programme.
“When fogging is done, the Wolbachia mosquitoes are also killed, so that is one of the matters that was highlighted,” Fahmi said.
