Talk on Prevention of Dengue Fever

The SS20 Anti Dengue Campaign kicked off with a talk on how to prevent and protect ourselves from the Aedes mosquito at the Damansara Specialist Hospital this morning.

The campaign is organized by KPJ Damansara, Reckitt Benckiser, MBPJ and RT SS20.
The guest speaker was Dr. Venugopalan, Head of the Vector Borne Disease Control Unit of the Selangor Health Department.

About a hundred residents and hospital staff attended the talk. All of us were very much more informed after the talk.

Remember to join us at the Central Zone padang for the main event of the Anti Dengue Campaign next Saturday, Nov 27.

Dr. Venugopalan telling us that dengue fever is a virus infection caused by the dengue virus. Dengue Fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (a more severe form) are the most common mosquito-borne viral diseases in the world. There is no drug for dengue.

SS20 residents and hospital staff listening attentively to the talk


Symptoms of dengue fever - headache, prolonged fever, skin rash, joint pain


To prevent dengue fever, you must prevent the breeding of its carrier, the Aedes mosquitoes. Aedes mosquitoes are identified by the black and white stripes on their body. You can get rid of the Aedes mosquito by frequently checking and removing stagnant water inside and outside your home e.g. ensure that water is not collected in between pandan leaves because the Aedes mosquito only requires 5 cc of water for it to lay its eggs.


Some of the things we learned about the Aedes mosquito, also known as Tiger mosquito:
• Only the female Aedes mosquito bites as it needs the protein in blood to develop its eggs.
• The mosquito becomes infective approximately 7 days after it has bitten a person carrying the virus. This is the extrinsic incubation period, during which time the virus replicates in the mosquito and reaches the salivary glands.
• Peak biting is at dawn and dusk.
• The average lifespan of an Aedes mosquito is 1 month
• The mosquito can lay eggs about 3 times in its lifetime, and about 100 - 200 eggs are produced each time.
• The eggs can lie dormant in dry conditions for up to about 9 months, after which they can hatch if exposed to favourable conditions, i.e. water and food


For more details and info, contact Selangor Health Dept.


Dr. Venugopalan being presented with a souvenir after the talk by En. Taufik, CEO of DSH.


Visitors to the MBPJ booth were given little bags of abate.