THE smoke blanketing large swathes of the country has resulted in the number of asthma cases increase 3.5% to 1,265 cases for the week from September 15-21 compared to 1,222 cases the previous week.

Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said conjunctivitis cases also rose 51.4% to 403 cases the same week, compared to 266 cases the week before.

“However, cases involving Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) showed a decline of 9.6%, (8,258 to 7,465 cases), in the same period,” he said in a statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said his ministry is constantly monitoring developments of health diseases related to the haze through its 33 Haze Sentinel Facilities around the country.

He advised the public especially those in the high-risk groups, such as the elderly and children and those with existing respiratory related ailments such as asthma, bronchitis and allergies, to take appropriate preventive measures to limit the effects of the current haze.

For more information on preventive measures, members of the public can visit MOH’s official  website at www.moh.gov.my. – Bernama, September 23, 2019.