1.Evaluation of land cover and prevalence of dengue in Malaysia
Tiong, V. ; Abd-Jamil, J. ; Mohamed Zan, H.A. ; Abu-Bakar, R.S. ; Ew, C.L. ; Jafar, F.L. ; Nellis, S. ; AbuBakar, S.
Tropical Biomedicine 2015;32(4):587-597
Serological confirmation of dengue in 1,410 school-going children aged 7-18 years
provided prevalence data for 16 different sites in Malaysia. These sites ranged from highly
urbanized cities to small towns. We found that at least ~7 % of children in the study group had
been exposed to dengue by age 12 and ~16% by age 18. Here we report that the dengue
seroprevalence correlates with i) increasing land development and decreased vegetation,
and ii) the overall population growth. Water bodies did not significantly affect dengue
prevalence. High prevalence of dengue was also recorded in few of the non-urban sites
suggesting the expanding geographical locality of those who get dengue in Malaysia in
tandem with increased land usage activities. These findings highlight the need to give closer
consideration to future urban planning and development, taking into consideration the
changing demography and the importance of built environment to mitigate the increasing
incidence of dengue in the non-urban areas of Malaysia.
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