Dengue death toll rises in Malaysia, number of cases close to double

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia saw a rise in deaths caused by dengue to 113 by August 3, compared to 70 cases in the same period last year, the health ministry said on Saturday.

It also said the total of dengue cases from the start of the year to early August hit 80,000, twice the number of cases in the corresponding period last year.

More than 70% of the cases occurred in urban areas, it said.

What is Dengue

Dengue is a viral infection caused by the bite of a specific kind of mosquito. It’s a severe flu like illness transmits to a human body when it is bitten by an infected female mosquito “Aedes Aegypti”. There are four distinct types refer as serotypes of the dengue virus.

This virus vary mild to severe it’s most severe forms are dengue shock syndrome and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). It occurs in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. This fever is also known as breakbone fever.

Globally, the number of dengue cases dropped in 2017-2018, but there has been a sharp increase in 2019, especially in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.