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Kota Kinabalu: Dengue cases in Sabah rose 50.4% this year with 2,866 cases as of June compared with 1,905 cases perviously, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic).

The national dengue cases rose by 20.7% to 33,367 cases from 27,640 cases in 2025.

Selangor recorded the highest number of cases at 15,422, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya with 6,107 cases, while Johor registered 3,556 cases.

Dzulkefly said the situation remained a cause for concern as dengue continued to pose a serious public health threat.

He said most dengue infections could be prevented if communities played a more active role in eliminating Aedes mosquito breeding grounds, particularly in residential areas and surrounding neighbourhoods.

“In Sabah alone, we have recorded 2,866 dengue cases compared with 1,905 cases during the same period last year, an increase of 50.4%. The districts involved are Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Penampang and Putatan.

The number of dengue-related deaths has also increased to 23 this year compared with 16 deaths last year,” he told reporters after officiating the national-level Asean Dengue Day, World Malaria Day and Mega Gotong-Royong programme held in conjunction with the Agenda Nasional Malaysia Sihat (ANMS) 2026 Roadshow at the Manggatal Community Hall on Sunday (June 14).

Dzulkefly said the Health Ministry would continue strengthening dengue prevention and control efforts through the Dengue-Free Community (KomBeD) initiative, which emphasises behavioural change and active community participation.

He said key strategies under the programme include strengthening community clean-up activities, promoting 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) practices, improving solid waste management, expanding greening programmes and enhancing entomological monitoring and surveillance to detect Aedes breeding sites.

“The first is environmental intervention, the second is community empowerment, and the third is a whole-of-society approach involving all Malaysians, supported by entomological surveillance,” he said.

Dzulkefly urged the public to remain vigilant and consistently take preventive measures to curb the spread of dengue.

He added that the ministry remained committed to building cleaner, greener, healthier and more resilient communities for the well-being of the people and the country.