KOTA KINABALU: A total of 45,423 cases with 170 deaths of dengue fever reported from January to 25th May 2020.

Sabah recorded the 4th highest number of cases across the country with 2,278 cases.

“The infectious diseases carried by mosquito vectors are an increasing public health concern in recent decades,” said Dr Chen Chee Dhang, Chairperson of Dengue Awareness Drawing Competition and Exhibition 2020.

In 2018, Dr Chen and his research team have conducted a questionnaire survey with 1,000 citizens from 5 major cities in Sabah, namely Kota Kinabalu, Kudat, Keningau, Sandakan and Tawau.

The results revealed that less than 36 per cent of the communities in Kota Kinabalu and Keningau have reasonably good knowledge on dengue and its vectors.

However, for Kudat, Sandakan and Tawau have less than 17% of the community with sufficient knowledge on this topic.

“This research output indicated the need for a dengue awareness programme particularly among student, in order to educate our youngsters.

“After nearly a year of preparation, the Biodiversity and Ecological Research Network (BEN), University of Malaya and the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM) are jointly organizing the Dengue Awareness Drawing Competition 2020 for Sabah,” he said in a statement.

The drawing competition which starts on 1 June until 31 August. More details can be obtained from attached poster.

Parents are encouraged to guide their children to read up and understand general information about the Aedes mosquito and dengue, and in turn translate this information into an artwork.