Affiliations 

  • 1 Clinical Research Centre, c/o Third Floor, Dermatology Block, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Pahang, 50586, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 National Public Health Laboratory, Lot 1853, Kg. Melayu, 47000, Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute, UKM Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Klinik Alam Medic, 41, Jalan Perdana ¾, Taman Puchong Perdana, 47100, Puchong, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 5 Kepala Batas Hospital, Jalan Bertam 2, 13200, Kepala Batas, Penang, Malaysia
  • 6 Stats Consulting Pte Ltd, D7-3-1, Block D7, Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1, Jalan PJU 1A/46, PJU 1A, 47301, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 7 ClinResearch Pte Ltd, D7-3-1, Block D7, Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1, Jalan PJU 1A/46, PJU 1A, 47301, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. limteckonn@gmail.com
BMC Public Health, 2016 08 18;16(1):824.
PMID: 27538986 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3496-9

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Each year an estimated 390 million dengue infections occur worldwide. In Malaysia, dengue is a growing public health concern but estimate of its disease burden remains uncertain. We compared the urban-rural difference of dengue seroprevalence and determined age-specific dengue seroprevalence in Malaysia.

METHODS: We undertook analysis on 11,821 subjects from six seroprevalence surveys conducted in Malaysia between 2001 and 2013, which composed of five urban and two rural series.

RESULTS: Prevalence of dengue increased with age in both urban and rural locations in Malaysia, which exceeded 90 % among those aged 70 years or beyond. The age-specific rates of the 5 urban surveys overlapped without clear separation among them, while prevalence was lower in younger subjects in rural series than in urban series, the trend reversed in older subjects. There were no differences in the seroprevalence by gender, ethnicity or region. Poisson regression model confirmed the prevalence have not changed in urban areas since 2001 but in rural areas, there was a significant positive time trend such that by year 2008, rural prevalence was as high as in urban areas.

CONCLUSION: Dengue seroprevalence has stabilized but persisted at a high level in urban areas since 2001, and is fast stabilizing in rural areas at the same high urban levels by 2008. The cumulative seroprevalence of dengue exceeds 90 % by the age of 70 years, which translates into 16.5 million people or 55 % of the total population in Malaysia, being infected by dengue by 2013.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.