Health Minister Dr. Abdulla Khalil has said that 389 cases of chikungunya have been reported this year.

Addressing a press conference at the Health Ministry yesterday, Khalil said the number of chikungunya cases in the recent past has been increasing this year.

"The first case is March 1. Since then, fewer cases have been reported from some atolls. Four cases were reported from GDh. Atoll, three cases from Sh. Atoll, two cases from L. Atoll.Two cases were detected in HA. Atoll and one case from B. Atoll. A total of 389 cases have been reported," He said.

Minister Khalil said that apart from chikungunya, dengue cases have also increased, which is more dangerous than chikungunya.

"Both diseases are transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. It is important to clean mosquito breeding sites to fulfill personal responsibility," he said.

He said that the population of foreign migrants is also very large, of which the largest population is from Bangladeshi and Sri Lanka's workers, and programmes are also being conducted in their respective languages to educate them.

Apart from the responsibility of the government, the minister also asked the government to spread awareness among the general public and extend people's cooperation in preventing the spread of easily transmitted diseases.