Strategies for Dengue Control in Malaysia

Dengue is one of the major public health problems in Malaysia. Since there is no vaccine available against the disease, vector control against Aedes mosquitoes is given emphasis in the dengue control programme. The strategies used in the control programme include anti-larval and anti-adult measures, health education and legal enforcement. The objectives are to reduce the incidence rate to less than 6 per 100,000 population and the case fatality rate to 0.4%. Despite intensive efforts in the last few years, these objectives have not been achieved. Many problems have been identified in carrying out these control activities and until these are overcome, dengue will continue to be a major problem in Malaysia