Kuala Lumpur and four states have been placed on dengue fever alert today following an "alarming" surge in cases of the mosquitoe-borne disease, which has killed 34 people this year, a city hall spokesman said.

The Kuala Lumpur authorities issued the alert following a 143 percent increase in the number of cases compared with the same period last year, with a total of 17,341 reported from January to the end of August,

The spokesman told AFP that leaflets had been distributed urging residents in high risk dengue areas around the city to clean up their communities to root out breeding grounds of the Aedes mosquito which spreads the disease.

"We are also conducting checks and water sampling to contain the spread of the disease, but it's still left to the public themselves to keep the areas clean," he said.

Selangor tops list

Selangor topped the list of cases with some 5,000, followed by the capital Kuala Lumpur with 4,094 cases, the New Straits Times reported.

Other states considered to be high risk areas were Perak, Kelantan and Johor.

A spokesman for the environmental ministry told AFP there was a link between warmer weather and dengue.

"When it is the dry season, the mosquito rate is higher, because the mosquitoes hatch faster and live longer in those weather conditions," he said.

"Currently, we are going through a dry spell, which is made worse by the El Nino effect, but I don't think it is going to be a long term problem."

Characterised by painful joints, fever and a rash, dengue symptoms usually begin within a week of a mosquito's bite and last for seven days. AFP