Kuala Lumpur, July 1 (IANS): Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak Tuesday said the government has formed a special task force to deal with the increasing number of dengue cases in the country.
Najib said the task force would be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and would involve health ministries and local councils, Xinhua reported.
"We hope the establishment of this special task force will be able to curb the rise in dengue cases and at the same time implement preventive measures more effectively throughout the country," Najib said.
According to official sources, the total number of dengue cases in Malaysia this year rose to 42,229 compared to 12,143 last year.
As of June 21 this year, 82 people have died of dengue nationwide, compared to 25 deaths last year.