The number of Malaysians to die from the mosquito-borne dengue virus this year has reached 81, although reported cases are now falling.

The Health Ministry's director of Disease Control Ramlee Rahmat said a woman and a four-year-old child had died over the weekend, while authorities had also recorded the death of a man several weeks ago, according to the state Bernama news agency.

Malaysia has been waging a campaign to stamp out the Aedes mosquito which carries the virus, and Ramlee said the number of suspected dengue cases reported in the last week had gone down.

102 died last year

He said 1,064 suspected cases were reported last week, compared to 1,172 the previous week, a drop of 9.2 percent.

Malaysia has recorded 32,126 suspected cases so far this year.

Fatalities from dengue in Malaysia reached record levels in 2004, when 102 people died, and the Health Ministry has warned the toll could be higher this year if efforts are not stepped up to eradicate the virus-carrying mosquito.

Neighbouring Singapore is suffering its worst dengue fever outbreak on record, with the death toll reaching 14 this year and total cases at record levels of 12,343, it said last week.