The country has been hit by a sharp rise in mosquito-borne dengue fever, which has killed 11 people this year, and health officials Monday said they were fumigating affected urban areas in an attempt to contain the disease.

The number of cases of dengue, which causes intense headaches, vomiting, muscle and joint aches and can be fatal if untreated, has surged 31 percent nationwide in the first six months of the year, The Star newspaper reported.

The 11 deaths occurred in the northern Perak, central Selangor and southern Negri Sembilan states, with Perak reporting a total of 1,089 cases and Selangor, which is adjacent to the capital Kuala Lumpur, recording 1,222.

In Kuala Lumpur itself, there were 200 dengue cases a week in the second half of last month, according to Federal Territory health department acting director Ang Kim Teng.

"There is a general increase in dengue cases. There is no need to issue a public alert, it is under control," a senior medical officer in the health ministry's disease control division told AFP on condition of anonymity.

She attributed the outbreak to recent heavy rains and the presence of construction sites and dumping grounds where stagnant water in containers and bottles provides a breeding ground for the aedes mosquitoes.

Selangor state executive councillor Tang See Hang said the disease shot up in the state recently with 422 cases in two weeks beginning June 23 and five deaths since January.

Athletes affected

In Negri Sembilan, health department director Ahmad Razin Ahmad Mahir said there were 394 reported cases including one death in the state in the last four months.

Among the victims of the dengue outbreak were 14 Malaysian athletes bound for the Manchester Commonwealth Games. They recovered in time for the Games, which begin on July 25.

The athletes were at training camp at the Bukit Jalil national sports complex when they were infected. Construction work on a new hostel block adjacent to their hostel was believed to be the cause of the outbreak. — AFP