MELAKA, Oct 8 — The Melaka Health Department will release mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia micro-organism in more areas in the state, especially in Melaka Tengah, in stages, in an effort to reduce dengue cases in the state.

Its Health director Datuk Dr Rusdi Abd Rahman said the areas include Kota Laksamana, Sungai Udang and Bukit Baru, but it depends on the ability of various parties to breed the insects.

"If we can breed two to three million Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes a week, maybe this project can be expanded to more dengue hotspots.

"But so far, we are only able to breed around 50,000 of those mosquitoes a week because we depend on many parties including the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) to produce the mosquito eggs," he told reporters here today.

Meanwhile, he said that although no deaths were recorded due to dengue in the state during the 39th Epidemiological Week that ended on September 30, dengue cases recorded an increase of 96.61 per cent to 869 cases compared to 442 cases in the same period last year.

As of September 30, he said the department had inspected 67,344 premises in the state and 7,793 of those premises were found to be breeding grounds for Aedes mosquito, carrier of the dengue virus.

"A total of 549 compounds worth RM274,500 was also issued, 248 cases were registered in court for not paying compounds while 79 cases were convicted," he added. — Bernama