According to Health Ministry, 336 people - an average of 28 a month - died from dengue last year compared to 215 in 2014, a rise of 56.3 per cent. (Representational Image)
Malaysia recorded 336 dengue deaths - the highest ever - last year as it saw a whopping 50 per cent jump in the number of fatalities due to mosquito-borne viral disease compared to 2014, the government said today.
According to Health Ministry, 336 people - an average of 28 a month - died from dengue last year compared to 215 in 2014, a rise of 56.3 per cent.
There was also an increase of 11.2 per cent in the number of dengue cases throughout last year, up from 108,698 in 2014 to 120,836 cases.
That's 333 cases a month or 110 cases each day, the Ministry said, cautioning people to brace for an equally bad, if not worse, year ahead.
The Ministry's Vector Borne Disease Sector (Disease Control Division) head Rose Nani Mudin said the upward trend of dengue cases recorded in the country corresponded with the rest of the world.
"World Health Organisation's data also showed the number of cases increasing each year globally," she said.
This was the highest number of dengue deaths ever recorded in the country, the Health Ministry said.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection. The infection causes flu-like illness and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue. The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades.
According to the WHO, about half of the world's population is now at risk.
Severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some Asian, including India, and Latin American countries.