Malaysia recorded 44 deaths due to dengue fever in the first five weeks of the year, a senior health official said Saturday.
Noor Hisham bin Abdullah, director general of the Ministry of Health said total of 15,039 cases of the mosquito-borne disease were reported nationwide during the first five weeks of 2015.
Dengue, also known as "break-bone fever," causes internal bleeding, organ impairment, respiratory distress and sometimes death, particularly among infants and the elderly. Symptoms include nausea, headache and severe muscle and joint pain.
